Power and Prisoners
by quirky21
Summary: Set somewhere after the Hirogan's holodeck hunts and before the Borg children. The crew can't catch a break until B'Elanna meets a mystery woman with an incredible gift. But that doesn't mean Voyager's troubles are over! Reviewers say, "The quality of your writing and your ability to spin a tale is top notch." "Wow!" "Loving the little twists and turns..."
1. Unidentified

A/N - Synopsis: Inspired mostly by the ideas of Year of Hell and the Hirogan takeover. I wanted to tinker with a Voyager that didn't get repaired within two episodes. Voyager and her crew can't quite catch a break until B'Elanna meets a stranger with an incredible gift. Unfortunately, her help comes with its own set of problems, like holes in Voyager, questions about her entire mysterious existence... and a certain half-Klingon discovering an attraction to Voyager's newest passenger.

Set somewhere after the Hirogan's holodeck games and before the Borg children. In-depth characterization and solid plots carry this tale!

Rated 'M' because I just can't write anything else. Violence, language, dark topics, and sexual themes.

xx

Welcome to my attempt to expand my head and its ability to write. I needed to break away from MRod fics for a little while :P And instead of telling a story from only one person's perspective, I thought to tell it from multiple third pov's. But, I still love OCs. Just, this time, you don't get to see inside her head ;) I hope you can enjoy it anyway.

This fic is already at 20k words on my hard drive, almost complete! It'll be 25-30k, no more.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_**Unidentified**_

Neelix frowned at the almost barren cargo bay he used as a pantry. Aside from a couple dozen kilos of old vegetables that wouldn't last a week, there was leola root left. It was no secret how much the crew disliked the flavor of quite a bit of his food, especially leola root, but he knew most of them still complained purely out of affectionate habit. They had simply needed to learn to appreciate Delta Quadrant flavors. Keeping their bellies full and energy levels up was his job. Not to mention he also felt responsible for their morale. Food and morale were very connected; it was how he contributed to the ship, making sure both were in good supply.

But with the energy shortages and constant mechanical failures plaguing Voyager, including a malfunctioning replicator system, morale was at an all-time low. There weren't any possible sources of deuterium within sensor range. And they'd had some terribly bad luck with Delta Quadrant natives as of late. He muttered to himself, "I'd better tell the captain about the poor menu choices coming up."

* * *

"These merchants seem pretty questionable." Chakotay mentioned as he and the captain went over the plan. They had come across some wandering aliens who claimed to have various cargo Voyager badly needed, such as food and plasma relays. In exchange, the merchants wanted some high quality duranium and bio-circuitry.

The captain couldn't agree more. "We don't have much choice. If I don't feed the crew something besides leola root stew, there's going to be a mutiny."

Both of them chuckled. "You're probably right."

"Hopefully, B'Elanna's experiment will be a success and we won't have to worry about problems like this anymore." Janeway wished.

Her second in command made an expression she recognized immediately. Unwillingness to hope. She understood his reticence. Shortcuts home generally led to either disappointment or bittersweet success. Even Chakotay's abundance of optimism was beginning to lose strength in this matter. "It would be nice," he offered.

* * *

"Increase the particle flow." The chief engineer told Vorik, her attention focused on the screen before her. With the increase, the readouts became more promising. "It's working! Vorik, it's working!"

"It appears so, chief." The Vulcan replied blandly.

A long half second later, there was a stable connection to the Alpha Quadrant. It was a scant two micrometers in diameter, but it was a connection. Data could be sent through that, maybe a transporter signal. There was hope that help could be sent!

"There's a buildup of tachyon particles. Why are there tachyon particles?" B'Elanna growled in frustration. Tachyons hadn't appeared in _any_ of the holodeck scenarios. There was no precedent for it in their wormhole experiment. "What the hell is going on?"

Various logical thoughts ran through Vorik's head, "Perhaps..."

Around them, the lights flashed to pulsing red, and that aggravating buzz alarm started.

_"RED ALERT! ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!"_ They could hear pounding boots in the corridors. "Computer, halt experiment." B'Elanna managed before running out of the science lab, Vorik right on her heels.

"_Unable to comply_." The computer answered to the empty room.

* * *

"What's going on?" Captain Janeway demanded as she strode onto the bridge from her office.

"Your instincts about the merchants were right, captain." Chakotay informed her. "As soon as their shuttle was aboard, we lost shields and propulsion. We're being boarded."

Harry cut in, "Captain, there's an unidentified gas in our ventilation system."

"Shut it down!" She barked.

"It's not working! We," he sneezed.

Tuvok sniffed, blinked, and collapsed. One by one, the rest of the bridge crew did as well. Throughout the ship, intruders with protective armor and rebreather units tromped around collapsed crewmembers. In the lab where the engineers had been tinkering with their idea of creating a wormhole to the Alpha Quadrant, the computer recorded the appearance of an unidentified intruder. The stranger struggled in the small space for a few moments until the sedating gas took effect on her as well.

* * *

Above, the sun was a cool, distant thing, casting meager light on the world despite it being high in the sky. The entire crew was piled onto an open transport that was floating over an almost black landscape. As B'Elanna's eyes focused, she could see how the foliage itself was black. It was unusual, but she wasn't a botanist, and she was more interested in figuring out how to escape.

The slavers thought their cargo to all be asleep. For the most part, they were. But the sedative they used didn't work so great on Klingons apparently. B'Elanna overheard one of the guards telling the others to keep a careful eye on the slaves. They'd be starting to stir about the time the shackles lost power. She kept a close look on the indicators and cautiously warmed up her muscles with small movements.

When they blinked off, she focused her attention on the guards, who were watching for their destination. Another guard complained about the time, and her friend told her to suck it up for the next seven minutes. None were paying B'Elanna any mind. Now was her moment; she rolled to the edge and pushed herself off the transport. She fell and tumbled in the dust and rocks. Picking herself up, she coughed and followed behind the thing. She would find some way to help her crew escape.

* * *

"Advanced technology doesn't work well up here." The head of the compound greeted his new batch of hijacked workers. "And the minerals that cause it are also what feed these plants. You'll be caring for them and harvesting their seed pods when they're ripe. You will work in details of three. Each detail will be given a section to work for the day."

He looked around at the couple hundred new faces. "The fence is electrified. It doesn't always work like it's supposed to, but don't get your hopes up. The electric currents are unpredictable, which means they're just as likely to disperse as to surge and kill you from two meters away. If you do happen to make it through the fence, there is plenty to eat in these hills if you like raw insects, rock algae, and poisonous snakes. Your shackles will work better the closer you get to the spaceport. Try to remove them without the codes, and they will kill you." He must have seen them all glance hopefully at their dead looking shackles. "Even up here."

"He's about as cheery as this half-dead star." Tom nudged Harry.

Giving the pathetic sunlight a grimace, Harry nodded.

* * *

At the end of the day, they lined up to receive their food cubes and water. Tom found himself separated from his shipmates and surrounded by grumpy aliens. The compound held at least four hundred beings, and the only ones who wanted to talk were his crewmates. It was disappointing to say the least. Not that it would stop him from trying to make a new friend.

"Hey there." Tom greeted an attractive woman who looked very human.

She peeled her eyes from the fence she was glaring at. "Hi."

"I'm Tom Paris."

"I'm hoping to leave soon."

Success! He crowed to himself and grinned winningly. "Me too. Have any plans for that yet?"

"Keep quiet and move it!" A guard shoved him. The woman shot the guard a nasty look, but turned her back on Tom. Sighing, he waited in boring silence until he was among friends again.

* * *

The next day, he found himself put on the same detail as the woman from before. "Hey again."  
"Look, no offense, but I don't want to get to know you." She told him.

He grimaced. "That's brutal." Smoothly, he morphed it into a grin and leaned slightly closer. "I haven't even given you my worst pick-up lines yet."

It got a smile out of her even though she shook her head.

"Come on, we'll be working together all day. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone to talk to when the guards aren't looking?" He pleaded, dreading the thought of yet another silent work day.

The stranger ran her fingers down the stem of one of the plants they'd been enslaved to care for. She studied the razor sharp edges of its fist-sized seed pods. "Do you know why the seeds are valuable?"

"Nope." Tom grinned toothily and quickly hid it by inspecting his side of the plant. "What's your name?"

"Do you think these plants evolved black before or after their sun starting dying?" She ignored his question.

"Who knows." Shrugging, he watched the way her gloved hands flipped a leaf out of her way. "What did you do before the slavers got you?"

Her body jerked and froze. Wide grey eyes flicked to him, and her reply was frosty. "Let's keep the topic to the here and now."

"Sure." Tom struggled with pushing down the terraquads of questions he suddenly had. "What do you think about this outfit?" He poked his butt out a bit, indicating the layers of scruffy clothes. "Does it make my butt look big?"

"Your-" She sputtered and stared at him. He gave his best innocent eye flutter. Light returned to her expression, and she guffawed, pushing his hips away. They worked in companionable quiet for a while, trading grins as they inspected their plants.

"Since you won't tell me your name, I'll have to come up with something to call you." Tom announced after a patrol stomped by.

His companion stopped what she was doing to look at him. A shielded look came over her, and her eyes looked down and away. "As you want," was her soft response.

He bulled on, "Mystery Girl seems about right."

It evoked an up-twist of her lips.

"Good to meet you, Mystery Girl."

She snickered lightly. "If you insist."  
"Or maybe MG? Missy?" Tom kept going, happy to blunder on with his little challenge now that he'd gotten a laugh out of her.

* * *

Yawning, Tom failed to give proper attention to his task. He hissed as the black-leafed plant ripped open his forearm. "Never thought I'd complain about missing the Doctor."

His mystery friend sympathized. "I don't like doctors much either, but it would be nice to get bandaged up properly."

* * *

That night at meal time, he dragged her over to where Harry was sitting. "Harry, Mystery Girl. Mystery Girl, this is Harry."

Harry shook his head at his ladies-man of a friend. "Can't get her to tell you her name, huh?"

"Not yet." He grinned, knowing it was only a matter of time.

* * *

Again the next day, they were put on the same detail. They chatted about nothing until lunch, when they were given food and a chance to relieve themselves. Mystery Girl didn't return. During dinner, rumors flew around about a slave who had made it through the fence. Seven confirmed it, admitting she had seen it happen. She found it fascinating, the way the electricity stalled for approximately eleven seconds, then flooded the fencing again like water from a dam.

Tom scowled in the direction of the fences, and Harry reached out to grip his shoulder. The two friends met gazes. "Think she has a chance out there, Harry?"

"Why not? She's lucky enough to get past the fences. That has to count for something." Stoutly optimistic, he smiled.

Unable to say anything positive, Tom returned his gaze to the darkness. His thoughts went to his ex-lover, B'Elanna, who was also out there. Somewhere in the cold. He shivered.

"She'll be okay, Tom. She's strong." Harry whispered fiercely. "You know that it would take a little more than a hostile takeover and a frigid planet to keep B'Elanna down."

"Harry's right, Tom." Chakotay's voice carried over. "If anyone can survive out there, it's B'Elanna."


	2. Seras

A/N - hi

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_**Seras**_

There was a tumble of loose rocks, then a whole flood of them. B'Elanna heard a voice cry out and then what appeared to be a human female rolled into sight. Holding her head, she stood and blinked. Her eyes focused on B'Elanna.

"Who the hell are you?" B'Elanna barked.

"What the hell are you?" The stranger retorted, eyes fixed on her forehead.

"I'm a Starfleet Officer." She growled, not appreciating the question. There were shackles on the stranger, and her clothes were torn, scuffed. "Did you escape?"

The female shrugged and edged away.

B'Elanna growled. "How coul-" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a patrol, and she dove, bringing herself and the stranger to the ground. "Patrol. Keep quiet."

There were only two of them. Up there in the height of the hills, nothing worked. She could easily take both out, steal their weapons and armor and sneak down. It would make her life much easier. Quietly, she stood and began to slink forward. A crunching footstep behind her and a hand on her wrist stopped her. Lips pulled back, she whipped her head back to snarl at the stranger.

"Let me go, or I'll rip your arms off."

The stranger blinked and let go. B'Elanna moved forward again, but that hand was on her wrist once more. "Wait."

The half-Klingon moved to break the hold and silence the stranger.

"If you kill them, their friends will notice, and whatever you're planning won't work," was spit out quickly.

B'Elanna immediately realized that error in her plan. "Then I'll do it fast."

"No." She wouldn't let go. "Wait. I have an idea."

"Speak quickly," came through gritted teeth.

"These rocks are pretty loose. I bet there's rockfalls all of the time."

How the woman had appeared was evidence to that. "Yeah?"

"Kill them with a rockfall."

Hissing, B'Elanna threw up her hands. "How does that help me steal their weapons?"

"Oh." She looked defeated. Then she shrugged. "Kill them, take their stuff, then bury them under a ton of rocks that their friends won't want to bother moving?"

"That I can use. Now, keep quiet." B'Elanna rushed off before the patrol got too far away. Being on the higher ground, it was easy enough to leap down on top of one, break that neck, then jump the other guard. The second put up a decent fight, and it got her blood pumping nicely. Eventually, there was an opening when the guard's attention shot from her. She shattered a rock on the alien's head that it did not get up from.

"Nice work."

Heart hammering, she whirled to see the stranger smiling at her. Under B'Elanna's glare, the smile faded. "What are you doing down here?"

"I thought I could help." The rock in her hand was dropped. "Guess you didn't need it."

B'Elanna wasn't going to admit that the stranger had helped. She honestly didn't know if she could have kept up the fight much longer. Hungry fatigue had her moving on willpower alone. "This one is about my size. You can help me take its gear and armor off."

Pulling off the alien's belongings was a lot harder than B'Elanna expected, and she was very glad for the stranger's help even though she looked like she might vomit. She was about to ask if the stranger had ever seen a dead body before, yet the idea of getting that personal was unpleasant. "What do I call you?"

Startled, the woman looked up. "Um, Seras. You?"

"B'Elanna."

Seras tried to repeat her name and failed terribly. "Sorry. How was that again?"

"B'Elanna." She repeated and tugged on a boot.

Again the woman failed and asked for repetition.

B'Elanna shot her an annoyed look.

"I don't mean to be obnoxious." Seras' eyebrows were pulled together, looking contrite. At least, if she was human she would be. The female could be any species with an entirely different set of expressions. And she wasn't human, because if she was, she would be part of Voyager's crew, which she most certainly was not. "I could make up a name for you that I won't stumble over if you'd rather."

When B'Elanna continued to stare at her, she flushed. "You really want to be able to say it properly?"

Seras nodded. "Yes. Don't you find it annoying when others don't say it right?"

Pebbles skidded down from their shifting feet. B'Elanna gaped at her a little before shutting her mouth and making a decision. She repeated her name again, but this time, with the Klingon accent her mother had pronounced it with, stressing the 'B' and using her throat more with the 'a's. Seras looked like she was chewing marbles for a second.

"B'Lanna." It was almost perfect. Much better than Tom had ever managed despite his honest efforts, but the man simply could not throat the Klingon vowels. Seras coughed and glanced at the alien they had undressed. "How was that?"

"Oh." B'Elanna swallowed, realizing her mind had warped away. "That was really good."

Seras beamed and sat down. "Great." She looked like she was chewing marbles again.

B'Elanna stripped the second alien of its extra gear. "What are you doing?"

"Practicing the sounds of your name. It's different." Seras grinned at her. "I like it."

Not sure how she felt about that response, B'Elanna yanked her attention to the weapon in her hand.

"What do you plan to do?"

"Free my crew." B'Elanna replied. The energy weapon was a basic tool. Point and shoot. She hoped it didn't have any personal security features. If it couldn't be used as a weapon, then maybe she could disassemble it and use it to remove the shackles.

"How?" Seras had drawn her knees up and was resting her arms on them. With the dim sunlight, it was difficult to tell the color of her skin or eyes, but they seemed like a medium hue of sorts. Her hair was dark, streaked with chunks of lighter color. Her features were smooth, no distinctive ridges or lobes or appendages. B'Elanna wondered where in the Delta Quadrant she had been stolen from.

"Sneak in with this," the outfit was held up, "sabotage the fences, and we overwhelm the guards with greater numbers." She said. The boots would be a problem, being several centimeters too big and oddly shaped. She would practice in them before risking her neck.

Seras picked up a few rocks and juggled them for a few revolutions before one landed on her head. "Ow."

B'Elanna watched her rub her head and go at it again. "Got any idea on how to create that rockfall of yours?"

Another rock plunked Seras' skull. "Tssff." She hissed and looked around. "Up there."

The two of them hauled a heavy rock up the slope and together, they heaved it at a weak point into a jumble of boulders. One gave way and was quickly followed by a couple tons of rock sliding, rolling, bouncing, _pounding_ down the slope. B'Elanna started to smile, and the ground underneath their feet trembled. "Run!"

As they dashed away, the ground shivered and broke up. Where they had been standing was already gone. B'Elanna pushed her tired body harder. Ahead was a solid rock face if she could leap the gap in between. Her feet slipped, and she dropped one of the energy weapons. Sheer adrenaline kept her going and launched her body across the distance. She landed with only her toes on solid ground. For a heart-stopping second, she teetered on the edge, then fell forward to her hands and rolled to her butt.

Seras slammed into the edge with her stomach and slid down, screaming. Her fingers didn't catch on anything. B'Elanna dropped everything to snap out and grab an arm. The woman's weight dragged her a few centimeters, but B'Elanna stopped and held tight. All of her muscles protested the effort.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit." Seras panted out, panic lacing her voice. She was looking down and starting to hyperventilate.

"Hey! Look up here." B'Elanna yelled. "Seras! Look at me!"  
Sweat dripping into her eyes, Seras whimpered and lifted her head. Their eyes locked. Without guidance, she took a steadying breath, stilling her quivering body. B'Elanna smiled at her. "Good. Other hand, get it up here."

It took a few tries for Seras to throw her other arm up, but she did, and somehow B'Elanna found the energy to help her scramble up. They lay panting until Seras started laughing. "Holy shit. I can't believe I almost died there."

She rolled over and scooted to look down. "Yeah. That would have definitely broken my neck."

"You handled that well." B'Elanna noted.

Seras wiped her face and sat back. "Thanks. And thank you for saving me."

Humbled by the appreciation, B'Elanna dipped her head shyly. "No problem."

* * *

"Think she got very far?" Tom was looking off in the distance.

"Who?" Janeway asked.

He glanced at the eyes watching him. "The woman Seven saw leap through the fence."

Seven grunted. "Probably not. She was unarmed and without any survival gear. I doubt she survived the night."

"What about B'Elanna? Think she survived the last few nights?" His tone was nasty and laced with fear.

"Tom." Janeway ended the argument before it could begin. "We're all worried about her. I'm sure she's out there somewhere. Knowing her, she's probably working on a way to take out the fences."

He hung his head. "Yeah. You're probably right. B'Elanna's tough. She'll make it and save us all." His laugh was a little dry.

Knowing he was worried for more than B'Elanna, Harry clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on. It's time to eat."

Janeway exchanged looks with Chakotay. He sighed. When the others had walked ahead of them, Chakotay whispered to his captain. "But what if she's not? Has anyone learned anything we can use?"

A pair of guards eyed them. Several meters beyond their watchful eyes, she whispered back. "Nothing yet."

Up ahead, they saw Seven stumble and her crewmates help her carry on.

"If we don't get Seven back to her alcove soon, she's going to die." Chakotay hissed.

Janeway clapped her first officer on the shoulder. "We'll figure something out." Her voice was iron. "Seven will not die as a slave, Chakotay."

His posture bolstered under her words. He nodded, reassured.

* * *

A couple hours later, B'Elanna and Seras were crouching in tall weeds, looking at the fenced compound. The sunlight was fading. "These days are really long." Seras muttered, watching the dim sun sink.

"And the nights are too cold." B'Elanna complained, pulling the alien uniform on over her clothes.

"What's your story when they ask where you've wandered in from?" Seras asked.

That gave the engineer pause. "Rockfall pinned me and killed my partner."

"What if the gate guards were friends with..." Seras trailed off, twisted her lips. "It?"

"Look, I'm an engineer, not a con-artist. Got any better ideas this time?"

Seras swallowed and sighed. She looked back at the compound. "I can get in the same way I got out. They don't bother to do headcounts. It'll be easy to sneak in and tell your friends you're out here."

"Then what?" She demanded.

A shrug. "Then your friends can make a better plan, and I'll come back out to tell you."

"How did you get out?" Suspicious, B'Elanna asked.

"I can, um, feel the energy flow. I know where and when the electricity is low enough to get through." Seras played with a black leaf.

Her explanation killed any remaining doubts that Seras was human. "Can all of your species sense this?"

Seras coughed. "My species? No. I'm the only one. I think."

"Too bad." Far too tired to think of a better plan, B'Elanna gave in. "Okay, fine. We'll do it your way. Did you talk to any of my crew? Know anyone's name?"

"Yes." Seras nodded. "Tom. He was really friendly, maybe a little too friendly."

"He would be friendly to the first attractive female he saw." B'Elanna muttered, then reigned herself in. That wasn't fair to him. Talking to people was one of his favorite hobbies, and he was good at making friends anywhere. It wasn't his fault that she had broken off their relationship.

Seras chuckling broke B'Elanna out of her reverie. "You sound like you have experience with it."

"A lot. What about Harry or the captain?"

"Harry. Was he the A-" Seras made a strange szz sound "Um. Young looking, squinting eyes?"

B'Elanna nodded. "Black hair, always with Tom."

"Right. Yea. I met him too. Nice guy." She hummed. "There was a red haired woman who a lot of people seemed to defer to. Is that your captain?"

"Yes!" B'Elanna was elated. Her captain would know what to do. "Go to Captain Janeway. If you can't get to her, find Tom or Harry."

Seras was nodding.

"But you'll need a way to prove you're my," she paused, "Ally."

"That might help."

Rubbing her arm, B'Elanna studied her companion. "Why are you willing to help me? Not to be completely rude, but why should I even be trusting you?"

Seras was obviously taken aback. "You saved my life. And I kind of hoped you might take me with you when you escape this place."

They were quiet. Seras fidgeted. B'Elanna finally said, "For proof, tell them that Tom's birthday surprise for Harry was the worst tasting candy I've ever had."

"Candy?"

"Yes." B'Elanna deadpanned. No one in their right mind would call those sickly green lumps candy, not someone who didn't relish foul vomit that induced instant stomach cramps. Tom had been officially banned from stepping foot into Neelix's kitchen ever again. It had taken the Talaxian chef _days_ to rid the messhall of the stench. "Candy."


	3. Hot Tea

A/N - Moving on!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_**Hot Tea**_

Unlike her sleeping crewmates, Seven was not blissfully in dreamland. She had managed a few naps that helped her exhaustion, but her cybernetics needed a full regeneration cycle. And she needed to be away from the tech-negating minerals. Exhausted and bored and unable to even meditate as Tuvok often suggested, she stared out the window. A shadow detached itself from the corner of a building and darted to the door of her bunkhouse.

The same woman who had escaped through the fences opened the door and stepped inside. She peered around in the near darkness. Seven remained absolutely still, waiting. The woman moved toward the occupied bunks. Captain Janeway was in her trajectory. Seven launched into motion, sweeping up to attack. Promptly, she tripped over her own feet and crashed into the woman, taking them both to the dirty floor.

Around them, people woke to the noise, whispering harshly. Janeway rolled out of bed to Seven's side and gently helped her up. "Seven! What happened?"

Embarrassed and frustrated, Seven felt her skin grow hot with an autonomic response. "This woman was sneaking in."

Seras picked herself up very slowly. "Hi."

"Hello." Janeway responded calmly as she settled Seven to a bed and stood protectively in front. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you Captain Janeway?" Seras asked.

"I am. Who are you?" She responded.

The outsider looked around at the growing number of eyes watching her with suspicion. "Seras. B'Elanna sent me."

Janeway raised a brow at the enunciation of the half-Klingon's name. Her curiosity bristled.

Having recognized the stranger, Harry couldn't wait to tell Tom he'd learned Mystery Girl's name before him. Grinning to himself, he focused attentively on the show. The room erupted in curious whispers about the missing chief. Like a schoolteacher, Janeway shushed them. "How is she?"

"She's fine. Tired, I think." Seras rubbed at her arm. "She said, um, Tom's surprise birthday candy for Harry was the worst."

"It was really bad." Harry laughed. "She's definitely met B'Elanna."

Janeway nodded, a smile stretching her face at the memory of the party. "Why did she send you?"

"I can get through the fence." Seras admitted and went on quickly. "She's waiting for me to take back your orders." She blinked, looking very uncomfortable. "Captain."

"I see." Intrigued, Janeway hummed.

Seven was staring at Seras intently, trying to deduce what species the female was. "How did you get past the fence without injury?"

Seras' eyes cut to her. "I can sense the electricity, know when it's safe enough." Her body shifted forward, in Seven's direction. Wrinkles folded her brow as she stared with more intensity. The captain spoke, questioning the ability, but the female ignored it to demand of Seven, "What is wrong with you?"

"My cybernetics are failing." Startled, Seven answered, watching Seras extend a hand. It was impossible to be sure, since her optical implant, like all the others, was malfunctioning, but she was registering an energy flux in that hand. The woman jerked away and cleared her throat. "That can't be pleasant."

"It is not." Seven agreed.

Seras swallowed and returned her attention to the captain. She explained the few resources that B'Elanna had at her disposal and the engineer's ideas for escape. Then she quietly shifted from one foot to the other as her eyes danced around. Janeway nodded and looked at her present senior staff. "Harry, keep a lookout in case a patrol decides to make a surprise visit. The rest of you, the floor is open for ideas."

Harry gave the stranger a little smile and wave and took up a post beside the door. Her lips lifted briefly. A short and very quiet debate began, the house buzzing with hopeful energy. They had numbers and surprise on their side. Expertise, resourcefulness, experience...

"It would be helpful to have one of those uniforms." Chakotay put in.

"What do you mean?" Massaging her aching neck, Janeway asked.

"We could use a little more information about our captors. Having a disguise could get one of us into the operations center." He explained.

They kept going until the captain found herself stifling a powerful yawn. "I bet B'Elanna is eager to hear from us. Seras, can you," her words faded when she saw the stranger. Seras had sat down at some point and fallen asleep. The captain padded over and touched the woman's shoulder.

Seras snapped awake and jerked herself away.  
"I didn't mean to startle you, Seras. I apologize." Janeway had already stepped away and held up her hands.

Breathing hard, Seras took a moment before she nodded. "It's okay." She stood, giving herself a few extra centimeters of space and ran fingers across her arm. "Are you ready to send me with a message?"

Janeway exchanged a look with Chakotay. He saw it too. The stranger was afraid of them. Yet, she was willing to help. It was suspicious. Brave and helpful people were unfortunately a rarity in their Delta Quadrant experience. "Actually, could you possibly take one of my crew with you to B'Elanna and back?"

The muscles in Seras' face moved, her brow tightened. Her frown was agitated. "I couldn't guarantee their safety."

Tuvok spoke. "I am willing to take that chance, Captain."

"Very well." Janeway nodded decisively. "Go with her and report back as quickly as you can."

"Aye, Captain." Tuvok secured his footwear, retrieved a spare canteen of water, and stood ready to follow the stranger, who was already beside Ensign Kim.

Seras whispered, "Hey, Harry. Is it quiet out there?"

He peeked out through a gap in the door frame. "Yep. Thanks for helping us."

"Yeah. Tell Tom I said hi."

"Sure." Harry smiled. "Good luck out there."

In the near darkness, Tuvok followed close behind Seras. She was not as stealthy as he expected her to be, given her unnoticed entrance into the compound. Every so often, she would trip over the uneven ground or seemingly over her own feet. Yet, she successfully avoided detection, stopping frequently to kneel and look around carefully. At the edge of the rows of plants, where several meters of open ground separated them and the fences, she stopped and knelt.

Tuvok waited quietly for close to ten minutes. "Perhaps we could increase our chances of intercepting a safe crossing if we walked parallel to the fence."

"No." Seras glanced at him. "The power is surging."

An insect buzzed by them, moving toward the fence. Two meters away, an electrical arc caught it, igniting the creature. A mote of glowing ash drifted along. Tuvok raised an eyebrow. Several minutes later, Seras mumbled incoherently and abruptly stood. Tuvok joined her.

"Stay by my side." She told him and walked forward. A meter from the fence, they stopped and she held out a hand. "Ready?"

Tuvok flexed his muscles. "Yes."

"Three. Two. One. Go now," was hissed.

Exactly on cue, he dashed forward and jumped through the spaced wires. Seras came through a few breaths after him.

* * *

What seemed like forever later, Seras reappeared on the rocky hill, fumbling and bumbling along in the starlight. B'Elanna barely recognized her frame when she noticed a large shadow following her. She slid into a battle-ready crouch. They drew close, and B'Elanna had to refrain from jumping up and hugging the shadow when she realized it was Tuvok. Relieved and happy to have familiar company, she rose to greet them. "Welcome back, Seras."

A bright smile had Seras' teeth glittering. "Thanks."

B'Elanna echoed it and turned to their other companion. "Tuvok, I am glad to see you."

"And I you." Tuvok nodded. "How are you, lieutenant?"

Distracted by Seras sitting a couple meters away from them, and the warm looking coat she was wearing, she didn't immediately respond.

"Lt. Torres, are you alright?" Tuvok repeated.

"Yes, Tuvok." She returned her attention to him. "I'm just really tired. And cold. And hungry. I haven't eaten more than a few bites of barely edible plants since I escaped."

"My apologies. I did not have food to bring with me nor extra warm clothing." Tuvok said.

Sighing, B'Elanna hung her head.

"I did bring a container of water and orders from the captain." He handed her the container from around his neck.

Water had been almost as difficult to get as food. She brightened a bit and drank greedily despite the chill it gave her. "Oh, that is good."

A packet bounced off her head, and she snarled at Seras. "What the hell?" She picked up the lumpy cloth packet, inspecting it curiously. The cloth fell away and revealed sealed cubes.

"Food cubes." Tuvok was surprised. "How did you acquire these?"

Mouth full, Seras said, "I took a detour before I went looking for your captain."

Ripping into the packages, B'Elanna discovered the contents smelled worse than gagh, making her lips curl and nose wrinkle. "Is this actually edible?" Despite her revulsion, her mouth watered at the prospect of eating.

"Depends on your definition of edible," was Seras' response.

Calm as always, Tuvok explained. "It is highly nutritious and caloric. Three cubes are the regular allotment for our meals. Lt. Paris describes them as leaving the stomach wanting for more despite not having the decency of tasting as bad as Neelix's cooking. I find them filling, though lacking in palatable flavor."

"Delightful." B'Elanna bit off a chunk and gagged on the dry, gritty thing.

"Don't you dare spit it out," threatened Seras. She held out a steaming cup. "It's not so bad with tea."

Whatever plant it was steeped from, the herbal tea was almost sweet and changed the food cubes' flavor to nearly edible. "Tuvok, did you know about this tea?"

"I did." He sniffed curiously. "Yet I do not know how to make it."

"Second day at the farm, I traded two cubes to learn how." Seras said, then started. "Wait, should you drink it? We're not the same specie." Panic tightened her voice, and she half rose. "Oh, shit. I didn't think about that."

Touched by the concern, B'Elanna felt her cheeks warm. Waving her hand to get Seras to sit again,"I'm sure I'll be fine. Klingons have powerful metabolisms." More tea washed down the grit.

Tuvok nodded at the questioning look from Seras, who sighed and returned to her butt. "Indeed. I am curious though."

"About what?" Seras asked.

"The water in your canteen is not warm. Where did you get the hot water for the tea?" His eyebrow arched.

"I made it," was the shrugged answer.

Tuvok was not satisfied with that. "Is it somehow linked to your abilities regarding the fence?"

Clearly uncomfortable, Seras toed the ground. "Kind of."

"It's fine, Tuvok. I'm just glad for the warmth and flavor." Feeling suddenly protective despite her own curiosity, B'Elanna excused Seras' hesitation. "Tell me what the captain sent you for."

"She wants to escape as soon as possible. Aside from the discomfort of being slaves, Voyager is getting further out of reach every day, and Seven will die if she stays much longer." He said.

They both looked toward the lights of the distant spaceport.

"The captain wants the stolen uniform. She will have someone use it investigate the off-limits areas." Tuvok said.

"The patrols are irregular and lazy. I think I can rig this gun to explode. It would take out a section of the fence and probably disable a good chunk, if not the whole perimeter."

"Excellent. We will stage a concerted revolt and disable whatever communications they have. The captain is planning to ask for the other slaves' help. Seras?" Tuvok spoke up to include their companion.

She put a hand over her mouth as she yawned. "Hmm?"

"Can we continue to expect your assistance?"

"Whatever it takes to get away from here."

"Lieutenant, the captain wants you to remain outside for now. I must report back. With Seras' assistance, you will be informed of what plans develop." Tuvok stood.

Yawning again, Seras pulled herself to her feet.

"Are your garments sufficiently warm?" Tuvok questioned B'Elanna before leaving her alone. The half-Klingon's ability to handle the cold was less capable than his own. And he was uncomfortable in these temperatures.

"Yeah. I'll be fine, Tuvok." She waved at him.

He was forced to accept her words, since the only other option was to give her his clothing. It was highly unlikely she would agree to that. A nod, and he stepped away, Seras beside him. At the fencing, she again had him wait for her countdown.

"Are you not coming?" He asked when she did not join him on the inside.

"No. I'd rather stay on this side of the fence." Seras said.

"You are capable of escaping again at any time. It is illogical to expose yourself to the elements when you could as easily enjoy a warm bed." Tuvok said.

Seras hugged herself. "I don't like being trapped. And besides, it would be mean to leave B'Elanna alone. She doesn't seem to handle the cold well."

Tuvok nodded at the explanation. "Very well. When will you return so we can communicate with Lt. Torres?"

"I'll slip in after you're put into the fields." Seras said.

"Then I will likely see you again in the morning. Good night, Seras."

* * *

B'Elanna was settling into the spot she had chosen for the night when she heard footsteps. There couldn't be a patrol. Even they didn't go out at night. And Seras had gone with Tuvok. She struggled with her tired body to go on the defensive.

"B'Elanna," a whisper sounded. "B'Elanna? It's Seras. Please don't jump out and kill me."

The footsteps moved closer, exactly in her direction, and B'Elanna could make out the familiar form of Seras. She sank back down. "Why did come back?"

Seras tripped, fell to her knees and cursed at great length about what the rock could do to its mother. Chuckles huffed out of B'Elanna's throat. "You okay?"

"Fantastic." She stumbled up and over, collapsing beside her. "Maybe I should have picked the warm bunk instead of asshole rocks."

"Why did you?"

"Don't like the feeling of being caged." Seras explained. "And I thought you might want hot tea when you start shivering again."

B'Elanna agreed with both sentiments. She would want something hot. The offer was generous and irritating, made her feel valued and vulnerable at the same time.

* * *

Sometime in the middle of the night, B'Elanna woke up shivering. Even after she peeled her tired body off the cold stones, she couldn't stop the continued shaking. It reached her teeth, and they clacked together. She started arguing with herself about trying to move about and risk injury in the dark or sit there being wretched or ignore her pride and personal boundaries to ask her companion for help.

Her internal argument continued even after she gave serious consideration to waking Seras. The stranger had already helped her out, earned her respect, and though she had made the offer, it still seemed rude to wake her out of a deep sleep. Seras rolled over and stretched, grunting until a flailing hand moved a few rocks.

"S-s-ser-ras." B'Elanna's chattering teeth didn't help. "S-seras."

Groans responded.

B'Elanna pushed out a cramped leg and poked her.

"Mmmf." Seras grumbled and eased herself into a long stretch that clearly spoke of sore muscles. Her eyes blinked at B'Elanna. She sat up quickly and fumbled for the water and cup. B'Elanna heard the water boil, and her eyes widened. Cursing, she poured more water in the cup and held it up. "Careful. I think I overdid it."

Water sloshed out of the cup, and B'Elanna would have dropped it if Seras didn't snatch it. "H-hot."

"Sorry." Seras muttered.

B'Elanna sucked up her pride. "H-help me d-d-drink it?"

Scuffing over, Seras obliged, holding the cup for the tea to be sipped. It burned B'Elanna's lips, and she swished the hot liquid around her mouth quickly. All the way down, it burned in a very good way. She leaned forward for more. This time she blew on the surface, then sipped. It didn't burn quite as badly. By the end of the cup, her shivering had settled down.

Hopefully, B'Elanna watched her prepare another cup. She was disappointed when Seras began to drink it and nibble a food cube. Her expression must have been caught. Seras offered a cube and the cup. "Can you hold it yourself this time?"

"Yeah." She chewed a mouthful of cube and washed it down with tea. "Here."

They shared the cup until the cubes were gone, and Seras finished the rest. B'Elanna already felt the stones leaching her fresh warmth. She stood and stamped her feet.

"Do all Klingons have difficulty with the cold?" Standing as well, Seras asked.

"Yes. The Klingon homeworld is a very hot place." B'Elanna said. "Hey, we should be keeping a watch. You can go back to sleep. I won't be able to."

"How have you survived out here?"

"Napping during the day. Trying not to kill myself walking at night."

"Then you are as exhausted as I thought you were." Seras hummed. B'Elanna looked at her and was surprised to see her taking off the coat. "I'm almost too warm with this thing."

B'Elanna shook her head. "No thanks."

"Why not?"

"It's..." B'Elanna's argument stuck in her throat. She had been expecting an argument, not a question. The truth would make her sounds like an idiot, which is exactly what she was being by not accepting the coat. "I don't have anything to trade back."

Seras laughed, a soft, delicate chuckle. "Passage on your ship is enough to pay back anything I could possibly offer." She huffed when B'Elanna still did not take it. "I'll accept the promise of a new wardrobe, three enormous hot meals a day, a full body massage, and," her hand whirled in the air, "A private suite for the food, tea, coat, and my help with the fence."

"You'd make a good Ferengi." B'Elanna grabbed the coat and wrapped it around herself, relishing the residual warmth from Seras.

Seras' teeth were shining through her smile. "A what?"

"They're a race of people who honor greed above all else. And they don't lose at the negotiating table." She replied, a smile of her own pulling at her lips. Chuckling turned to full-out laughter they both had to smother to keep the noise from traveling. They returned to their sleeping spot and B'Elanna found her eyes drooping. The coat was a nice barrier, keeping the stone from stealing her body heat. Suspiciously, she eyed her companion for any sign of shivering.

Seras turned to her. "I met one of your friends earlier who said her cybernetics were failing. Is she the one that Tuvok said would die soon?"

"Seven." B'Elanna murmured. "She needs her alcove."

"Why?" Seras' tone hushed to match B'Elanna's.

"Her cybernetics need to be recharged regularly." In normal conditions, the duration since regeneration wouldn't be so bad. Up in these anti-tech hills, Seven's implants would definitely be having a fit. The former drone was living on borrowed time. "They are completely integrated into her body, controlling even her autonomic functions. She needs the specialized energy that her alcove transmits for her to regenerate."

"Are there others like her?"

"No." B'Elanna snorted. "She is unique."

The stars circled overhead, unfamiliar constellations teased her with memories of home and camping trips with her father. B'Elanna switched her gaze to Seras, who was staring at the distant lights of the spaceport. A dozen questions popped in her head, little intros to learn more about the stranger. Seras slowly turned, met her eyes.

"How did you end up here? Did your ship get taken too?" B'Elanna finally asked.

Seras' shoulders lifted and fell. "Same as you."

"What about the rest of your crew?"

"Never had a crew." Her response was as enlightening as the rocks underneath. "I'm going back to sleep." She curled up, back to B'Elanna. Mind awhirl, B'Elanna stared at her shadowed form. Eventually, she turned her sight back to the spaceport and focused on ideas for getting there.


	4. Trust

A/N - ...enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_**Trust**_

B'Elanna watched Seras while the woman stared in rapt fascination at the rising sun. The sunrise was bland and cold, but Seras appeared entranced. Trying to figure out what the woman saw in it was a lost cause, so B'Elanna merely studied her physical features in the growing light. How incredibly human Seras looked was remarkable. Her skin was several shades darker than her own, but not quite as dark as Tuvok. A few scars from what might have been childhood maladies pebbled her skin.

Clearly, her species didn't have highly advanced medical training. Perhaps that meant her species was resilient to disease or that they weren't prone to violence. Unlike her own heritage. B'Elanna touched the cranial ridges that topped her very thick skull. Quickly, she moved them away and brushed back hair from her face.

Their hair was similar, dark with waves in it, though B'Elanna regularly used temporary agents to smooth her own and Seras' were more pronounced. Seras kept her hair very short. Like the rest of her, it was filthy and stuck out in random directions, showing off thin earlobes and a slender neck. There wasn't much muscle tone to be seen, though that could be deceiving. Humans were usually surprised by the half-Klingon strength coiled in her petite body. Seras wasn't much taller than she was. Who knew what alien strengths she had, if...

Skin turned golden by the light, Seras had on a carefree smile worth her weight in deuterium. Breath catching in her throat, B'Elanna realized that she found her beautiful. Seras suddenly turned to look at her, and she stopped breathing as that smile was directed at her. She became lost in eyes like antique folded steel, grey with ribbons of blue. The sun moved another fraction, taking its golden light, and B'Elanna could breathe again. She blinked and stood, muttering about getting their day of spying started.

* * *

Given his expertise, Tuvok was the logical choice for reconnaissance using the stolen guard uniform. He reported back right before breakfast. Briefly, he summed up the sub-par security, lazy attitudes, and his best ideas for exploiting these weaknesses. He also noted that a patrol had spotted the fresh rockfall and assumed their missing comrades to be under it. They didn't care enough to investigate. By lunchtime, the entire crew had already been informed of the upcoming rebellion. At dinner, the senior staff was finalizing plans. Seras returned to give B'Elanna's report of the lack of exterior activity and nothing of note within.

"Blowing up the fence will be a perfect diversion." Chakotay grinned widely, liking the ancient ploy.

"Indeed." Tuvok agreed.

Harry leaned in. "It's a good thing that some of the aliens and guards here have organic universal translators. Can you imagine doing this with charades?"

"That could be fun." Tom grinned. "But you're right. Seras, what is it you use, an implant or something?"

Seras' face pinched. "Something."

The captain and commander looked at each other, each silently asking the other their opinion of their mysterious ally. Chakotay shrugged. Janeway sighed. Despite Seras' lack of enthusiasm, excitement hummed in the chill night air. Tom slapped his thighs, eager to be doing something. "When are we doing this?"

"In two hours. I want the guards to be asleep and our exterior team to have enough time." The captain ordered. She turned to Seras and took one last minute to study the outsider. This was it, the moment of trust. Betrayal at this point would be catastrophic. "Seras, I want to send three of my crew outside the fence to give B'Elanna support. Can you do this?"

"If it gets me out here, I'll do it." Crisp and serious, Seras replied.

"Good. Tuvok, take your team and go now." Janeway ordered. "Two hours, people. Inform the rest of the crew, Chakotay."

"Aye, Captain." He left on the heels of the fence team. Struggling to control her anxiety and excitement, Janeway went over details with her remaining senior officers again.

Two hours later, a rippling cloud of pink fire blasted through the night. Cries and yells erupted from both the guards and Voyager's crew. Janeway gave Seras a moment of grateful thought, then burst into motion to help fight.

* * *

Taking over the compound was a lot easier than expected. The forty guards and overseers were half-asleep or drunk when the fencing exploded. Voyager's crew overwhelmed and subdued them within an hour. Radio transmissions were impossible, and the next supply transport wasn't due for several days, therefor the danger of reinforcements from the spaceport didn't exist. The other slaves, all two hundred of them, eagerly allied themselves to the crew. Most of them.

A few struck out on their own. A few too many appeared to have Stockholm Syndrome or simply been enslaved too long to think about freedom. A few more than that demanded the slavers' heads on pikes. Captain Janeway had her hands full with negotiations.

Her senior staff was kept busy learning what they could from the ill kept log books and logistics schedules, making plans, and building crude weapons. Tuvok's efforts at interrogating the slavers was extremely successful.

"According to our captors, Voyager was being taken to a nearby starbase to either be stripped of all useful technology and parts or to be recommissioned into their fleet." Tuvok reported. "One of them had spoken at length to a friend who would make that journey. They were having extreme difficulty in overriding the command lockouts. It seems we may have a chance at retrieving Voyager before they ever reach that base."

Elation and hope sprinted along the captain's veins. She clapped him on the shoulder. "Good work, my old friend. What have we learned about the spaceport?"

* * *

"Going for a change of pace?" Tom cajoled as he walked up.

B'Elanna didn't take her attention from the transport she was studying.

"The new company you're keeping. Seras."

She almost dropped the stylus and paper she was using for notes. Discussing her brief attraction to a stranger with her ex was not on her list of pleasant conversations. "W-what?"

He chuckled. "Usually it's Chakotay or Harry bringing home friendly strangers. It's not like you to make friends who don't want to kill us."

Keeping a lid on her anger, she muttered, "Don't tempt me."

"And everyone learned her name before I could." Venting his frustration, he accused. "That's just mean."

"You're losing your touch, Tom." She returned.

Quiet stretched, and she almost forgot he was there until, "Is that what happened to us? I lost touch with you?"

Tom was an absent-minded guy, but he had always made her feel important. It was... "It stopped feeling right, Tom. No matter how good you were to me, it was just," She didn't want to cry, yet the memories of all that effort, every bitter fight, each time she realized wanting didn't mean experiencing, grew hot behind her eyes. "I'm sorry, Tom."

"Yeah. Me too." He kicked at a rock, then brought up a smile. "So, do we need to lash forty slaves to this rig to get her going?"

* * *

"Your name is Seven, right?" Seras asked, squatting next to where Seven was enjoying the afternoon sun.

"That is correct."

Seras did not continue, only stared at Seven's middle and rubbed her arm.

"Did you intend on starting a conversation? If so, what is the purpose of it?" Seven wanted to know.

The woman's head jerked. "You're blunt."

"It is more efficient than the small-talk that the Doctor has tried to teach me." Seven said.

Softly, she blew air from her nose. "And intimidating."

Seven canted her head. "Many people have told me that I am not easy to approach." Seras nodded and was quiet again, but this time, she appeared to be studying Seven. After four minutes and eight seconds, Seven asked, "What do you want to know about me?"

A deep breath later, Seras answered her. "B'Elanna told me you need to regenerate in a special device for your cybernetics to be recharged. It takes a very specific kind of energy for this."

"Yes." Seven waited for more.

"If you felt this energy away from your device, would you recognize it and be able to adjust it?" Seras asked.

It was Seven's turn to be quiet as she considered the question. "Possibly."

Seras' gaze became very intense. "How do you absorb this energy?"

"Directly through my cortical node." Seven attempted to indicate the place with her hand, but was unable to properly control her arm. It twitched unsteadily, and Seras' eyes fixated on it for a moment. "Above my eyebrow." She lifted the unadorned one. "But the receptors are at the base of my skull."

"How much do you need?"

"Thirty megawatts for six consecutive hours."

Seras took a deep breath. "Wow. That's a few lightning strikes." Her eyes cut to the sky and back. "Would even a short duration be helpful?"

"Yes." Seven said. Her interest was very piqued. The line of questioning indicated that this woman might know of a way for her to regenerate.

"What about more megawatts? Would it help or hinder?"

"My cortical node cannot handle more than sixty megawatts at a time."

"How much longer can you go without regenerating?"

"I am already experiencing loss of motor control and difficulty with higher brain functions. Within thirty hours, it will go from frustrating to damaging." Seven simplified the explanation.

"Seven!" Harry stomped up to them, concern and anger apparent. "We don't know how much we can trust her, what if she wants to..."

Seven lifted her eyebrow to quiet him. "We are already trusting her with our lives, Ensign Kim. And it appears as though she may have a way to simulate an alcove." She turned to Seras. "Correct?"

The woman looked torn, but she nodded. "I might."

Harry leveled his nervous energy at Seras and demanded an explanation. "What is it?"

Her response was delivered with reluctance. "I can do more than sense energy."

"What are you talking about?" Shock and disbelief warred in his tone.

"I can manipulate it, to a degree. That's actually how I got past the fence. I changed the energy flow to go around me." Seras smiled and shrugged.

His eyes went very round. "You're kidding me."

"No. And if we can get somewhere I can tap into the spaceport's power grid or rig something to catch a few lightning bolts, I might be able to help Seven."

* * *

Janeway called a meeting of the senior officers and Seras. Tuvok believed that her input and assistance could be essential. The captain had balked against it, feeling like the stranger was hiding something too important to truly trust her. Yet, her senior tactical officer had argued that the woman had yet to give them any reason to distrust her. And without a logical retort, she had given in.

Throughout the meeting, Janeway kept half an eye on her. Noted every shift in body language and wondered if she would ever talk. Plans for getting everyone on the transports was easy enough. The things had wheels and being uphill, all they had to do was get on and release the brakes. By the time momentum ran out, the anti-gravity systems should work again.

Getting to the spaceport would be simple since the transports were due there to collect fresh supplies anyway. But the guards around the ships there would be a problem. So would having enough time to get everyone out of the transports and into a hijacked vessel, then getting that vessel airborne. As well as the trouble the shackles would give them. They needed a distraction. And it needed to be really good. Her staff began arguing fruitlessly.

"You need a solid distraction." Spoken softly, yet firmly, Seras' voice cut in during a lull.

Immediately intrigued, Janeway asked. "Did you have something in mind?"

"What about a giant power drain?" Seras suggested. Janeway thought again. No, she was offering. Tuvok raised an eyebrow. He had realized it as well.

B'Elanna cut the air with a sharp gesture. "That would be perfect, but how the hell do you suggest we do that?"

Harry burst a blood vessel and leaned forward, aghast at the idea. "You want to try _that_ as a distraction?!"

Everyone looked at him. Janeway struggled to decide who to stare at, and her patience snapped, her mouth opened to berate him and demand an explanation.

"Try what, Harry?" Tom was first to ask.

Sputtering mad, he turned to his friend. "S-she wants to try mimicking Seven's alcove! It's too dangerous; she could kill Seven."

B'Elanna whipped toward Seras. "You can do that?"

The same grey eyes she had been admiring earlier fixed on her. They looked haunted now. "I can try. At the very least, I can give you the distraction you need."

While they stared at each other, the rest stared at Seras, then shifted to each other, and finally, the captain. "You offer something difficult to believe." Janeway said.

Seras looked to her. "I can barely believe that I'm here, but I can do what I said I can."

"Forgive my doubts, but we've met very few species who have telekinetic abilities. That rarity forces me to ask for proof before I will trust you with the lives of my people." Diplomatically, Janeway retorted, taking careful note of Seras' stunned reaction to 'lives of my people'.

Swallowing, Seras looked down, back up, and over to B'Elanna. "She's already gotten herself and people past the fence several times, not to mention her trick with the tea."

Janeway considered it for a moment, but her suspicions weren't easily allayed. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but trust keeps getting harder to come by in this quadrant."

Drooping, Seras sighed. She settled her regard to her hands. "These look just like yours, right?" Her wrists and shackles were held up. "Try to take them off me."

Janeway and B'Elanna leaned forward. The captain tugged at the shackles, but they held tight and squawked a warning about tampering. "They've got the same design as ours, Captain."

Seras' features tightened with concentration. The shackles on her wrists sparked and puffed smoke, then fell off. Her eyes followed them to the ground and stayed there. A whisper came from her, "Enough proof?"

Janeway was very much rid of doubt. Now, she was full of respect and curiosity. Her inner scientist wanted to know all about this stranger's species, how she was able to manipulate energy with such apparent ease. "Yes. Thank you."

Seras rubbed at her freed wrists, relief evident. She yawned.

"Wait." B'Elanna stepped in. "Can you do that for others?"

From the ground, her gaze snapped up. "On others, I'd have to work a lot harder to not let the power surge kill them." Seras hedged.

Immediately, B'Elanna thrust out her wrists. "I'm willing to bet you can handle it."

Breaths went by. An inner struggle obvious in her dilated eyes and harsh breathing. Seras' attention bounced from B'Elanna, to the others, and back. "I would try."

B'Elanna moved closer to put her shackles in Seras' reach, but Harry pushed them down. "No. You're too valuable as our chief engineer. Let her try on me first."

Flashing hot, anger had her baring her teeth at him. He swallowed, but didn't back down. Seras' eyes switched between the two and landed on B'Elanna. The stranger appeared to be waiting on her word. Surprised, B'Elanna's anger faded slightly. She clenched her jaw and refrained from giving Harry a broken nose. "Fine."

From the corner of her eye, she saw the captain give an approving smile. It finished cooling her head. B'Elanna stepped back and crossed her arms.

Dipping her head, and Seras placed her hands on Harry's restraints. She bit her lip, breathed, and nothing happened. Beads of sweat formed and dripped down her face. The officers began exchanging looks, suspicious and worried. Harry looked to the captain, and she opened her mouth, yet closed it abruptly, her eyes going wide. A faint glow was gathering around her hands.

There was a popping sound and a jagged tree of electricity shot from the shackles to Seras. Cracking open, the shackles' destruction broke the tense atmosphere. Seras dropped her hands and swayed. Tuvok caught her and guided her to a bunk. Harry and Tom exchanged murmurs and B'Elanna picked up the ruined shackles. The things were lined with black scorch marks and the interior had blood, old blood from the chaffing they caused. Her own wrists itched in sympathy.

The captain knelt in front of Seras. "Are you alright?"

She caught her breath. "It was harder than I thought to redirect the surge."

"Do you think you could do this for a small task force?" Tuvok asked. "The tactical advantage would be considerable."

"Right. If we can get to the control center, we can send the orders and they'll fall off by themselves." Excitedly, B'Elanna explained.

"Yes." Tuvok said. "Can you do this?"

Seras wiped her face. "Now that I know what to do, it shouldn't take so much effort."

* * *

In the bunkhouse, Harry was keeping watch while Seras relaxed after releasing a dozen of the crew from their shackles. The rest of the senior staff was in the control room, finalizing arrangements for their exodus.

"Are we sure we can trust her?" Chakotay put in. "This whole plan is relying on Seras and her supposed ability."

"She is obviously reluctant to display her power." Tuvok noted.

"But she seems to have created a bond with Lt. Torres. And she is as eager to escape this place as we are." Neelix said.

Touching his freed wrists, Tom added, "I think she's scared. We're all scared. Neelix is right about her wanting to get away as much as we do. She'll come through."

"Her ability to slip through the fences, reroute the fatal charge in the shackles, and detect my failing cybernetics is impressive. It does not mean she can drain a power station and recreate the energy of a Borg alcove. Perhaps we should come up with an alternate plan." Interjected Seven.

B'Elanna snorted. Seven was just as scared, and unwilling to hope too much, as the rest of them.

"I believe she can be trusted to do what she has promised." Janeway ended the debate. "Develop a backup plan if you can by nineteen hundred, otherwise we move forward with the one we have. We leave at twenty-two hundred. Dismissed."


	5. Unlocking Trouble

**Chapter 5**

_**Unlocking Trouble**_

On the transport, B'Elanna clenched her chattering teeth. Except those on watch in the cockpit, most of the crew was asleep. She wished she could be, but even with the press of bodies, Seras' coat, and a blanket, the open transport was full of freezing wind. Cursing her Klingon blood, she curled into the tightest ball she could. The icy wind seemed to laugh as it took her meager body heat. Earlier, she had caught Tom's eye and seen the offer in it, but cuddling with him would have sent the wrong message to him, herself, everyone. She regretted it now.

A hand touched her shoulder. "Tea?"

Eagerly, B'Elanna sat up. "Why are y-you awake?"

"Too wired, and that nap earlier," Seras explained. She fished inside a little pack, removed a cup. "Want hot tea?"

This woman was too good to be true. B'Elanna eyed the cup for about four seconds before she brushed off the distrust that was trying to build. "Y-yeah, please."

Rapt, she watched Seras turned cold water and leaves into hot tea with her bare hands again. A food cube was offered with it. Another cup was pulled out, and Seras prepared tea for herself.

"Do you always carry an extra cup?" B'Elanna joked.

"Only when I'm trying to impress someone." Seras replied with a grin.

"Consider me impressed." Were they flirting? B'Elanna felt her heart constrict.

"You're the only one who doesn't think I'm about to betray all of you. I figured using my super-tea-power was my best bet at staying on your good side."

B'Elanna was more hurt than she should have been. Her reply was sharp and brutal. "So that's what I am. A ticket home. You don't need to be nice to me to catch a ride on _Voyager_." She thrust out the cup. "Take your damn tea back."

Seras jerked, her eyes wide, and dropped the one in her hands. Clattering on the floor and splashing out its contents startled awake nearby crew. Seras cursed and apologized to them. Grumbling, they returned to their naps as Seras fumbled to get the cup and wipe up the mess. B'Elanna put her cup down and watched her with her personal walls at full power.

Not looking at her, Seras whispered. "Sorry. I was joking. I didn't mean it like that."

What a _petaQ_, she knew her mother would have called her, being senselessly cruel like that. It was her recent interaction with Tom and the fear of letting someone else in again. Seras had slipped past her emotional wall far too easily, and it scared the plasma out of her. Her cup was still beside her. It still smelled appetizing. And B'Elanna was still cold.

She picked up the tea and sipped from it. "I know," sighed out of her. "I'm on edge and this little conversation I had with my ex earlier, well, he... It didn't help."

"No worries." Twirling the cup in her hands, Seras shrugged. She put it away and withdrew into a blanket.

By the last sip of tea, Seras hadn't said anything more, nor had B'Elanna. She wasn't sure if Seras was asleep or not and fiddled with the cup for a while. Eventually, she placed it by her side, pushed thoughts of what an idiot she was out of her head, and told her body it was warm, therefor it was time to sleep.

* * *

At the spaceport, they split into groups. One went to provide Seras cover while she created her diversion and hopefully helped Seven. Another accompanied B'Elanna to take over the control station where they could send a signal for the shackles to release and take command of the docks. The last went directly to the ship docks to find a ride home.

That was plan. But as it turned out, the power station was on the opposite end of the spaceport. The control rooms were right there and heavily guarded. Despite the late hour, lazy, slobbish, and half-asleep did not describe these guards. Unlike the ones at the farms, these guards were always fending off rivals and catching slaves. Only the fact that some of the crew didn't have shackles on were what saved them.

While the majority found their hands and feet locked together and their bodies twitching with electric shocks, the assault teams battled their way into the station. Putting their stolen weapons to good use, they got halfway to the main room when they got pinned down, trading fire without effect.

"There's only about ten more guards between us and the controls." Chakotay did some quick mental math from the information they'd acquired.

"Yes, but from that position, they can hold us off indefinitely." Tuvok pointed out.

B'Elanna snarled, "We don't have the kind of time before they set off the alarms or..."

They looked at each other. "Why haven't they set off an alarm yet?" Chakotay asked.

"Could be a silent alarm. Or the reinforcements are already here." B'Elanna fired off a few shots.

"What do we do, captain?" Tom asked, belatedly noticing she wasn't with them. "Where's the captain? I thought she w-" he stopped as he saw the captain running up with Seras in tow.

"The alarm is disabled, and no signals are going out for the next few minutes. Why have you stopped?" Janeway demanded and peeked around the corner when Chakotay waved at their dilemma. "Seras, can you do something?"

Biting her lip, Seras placed her hand to the wall and took a breath. An explosion and cries of pain sounded from the enemy. B'Elanna and Chakotay didn't hesitate. Weapons firing, they advanced through smoke and charred bodies. Three guards were able to put up a fight, but they didn't last long. Without mercy, B'Elanna finished off those twitching on the ground. Or maybe it was mercy. Those plasma burns looked vicious.

Shrugging, she moved to attack the consoles. They wouldn't respond to her attempts at overriding the codes. She bent under them and opened up their guts.

"Here. This might help." Chakotay's hand, full of a tricorder, appeared.

Opening it, she asked, "Where the hell did you find this?"

The captain's voice called over. "There's a storage locker full of our technology."

"Thieves," grumbled B'Elanna. She studied the scans on the tricorder. If she could reroute the power from that node to that one, she could bypass the security codes. She wanted her toolkit. "Any engineering tools?"

"Sorry. Find another way." Janeway ordered.

She hauled herself up and surveyed the room, hoping there'd be something obvious that could... "Seras!"

The woman was standing, blankly staring at the bodies.

"Hey, Seras. I could use your help over here."

No response.

"Seras?"

Only _Voyager_ crew glanced at her. Annoyed, she strode up and clamped a hand to her shoulder. Flashing blue, an electric shock fried her hand. Screaming, B'Elanna jumped away, eyes locked on her burned fingers. Immediately, several weapons were pointed at Seras, who was shrinking away, holding her palms out, terror written across her. "I'm sorry! Don't shoot!" Her feet snagged, and she fell to her butt, wet streaks on her face. "Please. I didn't mean to hurt her."

Whimpering like a child, Seras kept repeating, "I didn't mean it!"

Already attending to B'Elanna's injury, Tom spoke into the tense atmosphere. "It's not a serious burn."

First to lower her weapon was Janeway. "She could have done a lot worse. Lower your weapons. Seras, we're not going to hurt you. It's okay. Seras, calm down."

But she didn't, and her whimpering became worse, body rocking on its heels.

"We're running short on time here. Get yourself together, Seras." B'Elanna said curtly. No response again. She lost her temper, squatted down, and slapped the whimpers out of her. In the hush that followed, the slap seemed to reverberate. Seras was as rigid as an ice sculpture, face turned the way it'd been pushed, a dark flush rising in the shape of a hand. "Whatever your problem is, it doesn't matter right now. You can face your fears and insecurities when we're on _Voyager_."

Janeway started to interfere, but caught herself. Expressionless, Seras was looking at B'Elanna.

"Get up."

Seras stood, and her eyes started to wander away from B'Elanna, to the bodies, but B'Elanna verbally slapped her again. "Don't even. Get over here and help me with this bypass."

Heart pounding in her chest, B'Elanna strode to the control panel and moved under it. She could have laughed from the desperate anxiety when Seras joined her, following her orders, redirecting the energy as shown. B'Elanna jumped up and crowed out loud when the controls responded. She fired through them, unlocking the shackle controls and sending the commands for all of them to release.

"Are you done with me?" Seras was standing at rigid attention.

"Yeah." Caught off guard, B'Elanna blinked. "Th-" but Seras had already turned away, telling the captain that if she wanted a diversion, then she needed to get going. With Chakotay, Seras vanished.

"Thanks," finished B'Elanna in a low whisper. She didn't regret her actions, yet she wished she'd thought of a different way that hadn't, _once again_, relied on violence like a Klingon.

* * *

Translation:  
_petaQ - _Klingon curse word meaning: useless/garbage


	6. Impatience and Worry

**Chapter 6**

_**Impatience and Worry**_

Outside, the commander dispersed a handful of communicators that he'd confiscated. And he grinned at seeing his crew free of restraints. From the captain, he passed on orders to wait until the diversion, then make warp speed to the docks. After gathering his chosen team, he and Harry helped Seven to a smaller transport that had already been commandeered. Seras climbed in behind them, keeping her lips sealed, eyes locked beyond them. Directing the urban shuttle, Harry asked Chakotay what had happened.

Chakotay detailed their assault. When Harry pointedly glanced at Seras, he quietly explained what had caused the stranger to become stony and sport a swollen cheek. "I think she might have killed for the first time and broke down. B'Elanna slapped her out of it. It sounded painful."

"Harsh." The younger man remembered the first time he had killed someone. It had been shortly after arriving in the Delta Quadrant. Deep internal discussions of morality and self-worth had occupied him for weeks. "Think she'll be able to complete the mission?"

"You mean, do we go with plan B instead of risking Seven." Chakotay retorted.

Harry nodded.

The commander checked on his team and studied first Seven, then Seras' rigid profile. "B'Elanna's actions will keep Seras' head in the game." He hoped.

At the gates to the power station, two guards stopped them. One stepped close to inspect, but got a bolt of energy to the chest that went right through to the second. Harry punched it through the gates, cursing when he saw emergency lights flaring and guards pouring out of the main building. They met the same fates as their gate comrades.

Chakotay cast a swift glance at Seras, but she didn't show signs of her earlier mental instability. That didn't mean it couldn't happen without notice. He didn't like the situation, but he really didn't have another choice. Hoping for the best, he gathered his weapon and readied himself to run. "Set her down, Harry."

A slight bump later, the shuttle met the ground. Quickly, efficiently, the team surged from the shuttle, meeting no resistance until the sealed doors. Seras, who had been keeping pace beside Chakotay and Harry as they carried Seven, put her hand to the door console. The doors didn't move until Chakotay met her eyes. He nodded, and the doors opened.

Weapons fire, conduits exploding, and smoke took away sense of time. The central core was in front of them before they realized they'd made it there. It had been less than ten minutes. And it was under their control within another five. Amazed at the efficiency of their takeover, Chakotay looked for the source of their fast success. She was nearby, sitting in a chair at the control panel, sweating and breathing hard, hair plastered to her head. He left Seven in Harry's care to talk to Seras.

"How are you doing?"

"This whole running thing, I'm not so much about it." Slightly smiling, Seras panted.

Appreciating the sentiment, having always preferred weight training himself, and in awe at how much damaged she'd done along the way, he chuckled. "I hate to rush you, bu-"

Her expression went cold. "But we're on a time crunch." She stood and wiped sweat away with a sleeve. "And I still have to earn my ticket."

He didn't get a chance to ask what that meant as the strange woman was already stalking to where Harry was cradling Seven in his arms, the former Borg frighteningly pale and twitching. Not speaking, she sank down beside them and placed a hand over what must be a power conduit. Chakotay ordered his team to fan out and hold the area while he and Harry kept watch there. He took up watch at a console, where he found security feeds, and he checked in with the captain.

Everything was good on their end. Reports were already on the air about trouble at the power station. It wasn't enough though. They needed something bigger to draw attention away from the docks. He promised to do what he could. Harry's frustrated and worried voice cut the room's quiet.

"Can't you go any faster? She's fading."

"Harry, I've never done anything like this before." Seras lost the cold stiffness she'd been exuding since B'Elanna hit her. Stress and fear were clearly visible on her. "If I'm not careful, I'll kill her."

Running a hand through his short hair, he groaned. Losing Seven would be harder than he wanted to think about. Harry brushed aside scorched blonde locks. "Hang in there, Seven."

Seven's icy blue eyes fluttered open and stared into his. The pupils were dilated unevenly, and he sucked in a breath, biting his tongue to keep from yelling at Seras to act faster. "Your impatience will not help."

"I can't help it. I'm worried about you." He complained.

Seras reached out. "It'd be easier if I held her for this."

There wasn't any hesitation in his short reply. "No."

"Worrying about electrocuting you would be distracting."

He set his jaw stubbornly.

"You want me to save this woman, not kill her or you. I need my concentration unbroken. Stand guard outside if you want to help." Seras snapped.

Harry didn't like it, but Seven's whisper for him to let go forced him to huff and very carefully hand her off. His worry was assuaged a little as he watched Seras move gently to accommodate Seven's delicate status. When the ailing woman was nestled in her lap, her eyes met his. "Give us some space."

He didn't move, and she frowned.

"Why don't you step outside, ensign." Chakotay politely ordered him.

"Commander," was his beginning of an argument.

"Out." He wasn't polite again.

Distinctly unhappy, Harry gathered up his weapon and went to join the security outside. Seras sent Chakotay a brief nod of appreciation. He gave her his best 'don't screw this up' face.

Between Seras and the conduit, a slight glow formed and grew steadily brighter until it was an intense white rod. Every centimeter of the woman gave off a steady hum of light. "Seven, are you ready?"

An affirmative hum came from Seven.

"Great. I'll try not to kill you, okay?"

Seven almost smiled. "Good."

Concentration creased their faces. The glow began to intensify in Seras' hands, which had wrapped around Seven's head, thumbs at the base of the skull. "Lower." Seven hissed.

The glow changed rhythm. "Great spirits." Chakotay murmured.

For the next fifteen minutes, he listened to them make short exchanges he didn't understand. Occasionally, Seven would hiss in pain, Seras would apologize, and they'd continue. It was like listening to a powerful piece of music the way it pulled at his emotions, how useless he felt underlying the hope and worry.

Seras opened her eyes. "This is it."

"Yes." Seven agreed, speaking for the first time in what felt like hours. Seras glanced at him, her eyes now a stunning white, irises lost in the glow of energy. "Keep your distance. It starts now."

All of that had only been preparation! He scratched his head, feeling a shiver run down his spine. Every hair on his body was standing on end. Sparks began to arc from the conduit to Seras and around her body. None moved to Seven, though, and Chakotay thanked the spirits for that. Belatedly, he glanced at his tricorder. The readings went from astounding to unbelievable. Seras was giving off the same energy readings as Seven's Borg alcove. Forty megawatts of power, and climbing, were being channeled through her body. It topped out at fifty-two and held steady with only slight variations for half an hour. Then it dropped abruptly to forty-eight.

He frowned at the reading and at the women, but neither indicated that there was a problem. By visual inspection, he didn't see any change in the energy glow, and his body felt as buzzy as ever. Satisfied as he could be with that, he continued to wait.

* * *

Around them, the docking ring was in absolute turmoil. The not-subtle attack on the power station had immediately drawn the entire spaceport's attention, which the crew had eagerly exploited. One of the cargo ships was under their control, and more of their technology and supplies were being confiscated from nearby storage lockers.

"Mr. Paris, you call this," Janeway indicated B'Elanna's severely burned fingers he was bandaging, "Not serious?"

He gave her a sheepish grin and shrugged. "Unless it's killing her, no injury is serious for a half-Klingon."

Blowing out a short chuckle, Janeway refused to agree out loud.

"Captain," B'Elanna hissed in pain. Tom mumbled an apology, and she continued. "You were right when you said it could be a lot worse. Compared to what she did to those guards, this is nothing."

Janeway was considering a retort or a reprimand, but her first officer's hail interrupted. "Go ahead, commander."

"How much longer until the ship is ready to leave?"

The captain looked to her chief engineer, who bared her teeth at Tom. "If Tom ever finishes with my hand, I can get back to working on that."

Tom huffed and threw up his hands. "Fine. Go on. I'm sorry for the inconvenience of tending your injuries."

"At least a half hour, commander. Maybe more. These ships are piecemeal, collections of different technologies glued together with spit and idiocy." B'Elanna snapped, annoyed at Tom, the injury, and her worry over the situation.

"Well, that gives our new friend more time with Seven." Chakotay mediated.

"Indeed." Janeway said. "Keep me informed."

"Aye, captain." He said.

* * *

"Commander," Harry ran up. "We can't hold them back much longer."

His eyes were on the two surrounded by soft light. A spark of green lifted off of Seras' hands. Chakotay checked the readings on the tricorder. Seven's vitals had been pulled from dangerous lows and were steadily moving in a positive direction. He wasn't even sure how to interpret Seras' vitals, like a Borg alcove or a crewman in the infirmary. Both being outside his particular expertise, he was at a loss.

"She's doing it, Harry." Chakotay murmured. "Seven is going to make it."

A weight looked like it lifted from the young ensign's shoulders. He smiled a little. "Amazing."

"Both her and the captain need more time," was added. "At least a half hour."

"We'll do our best, sir." He responded stoutly, peeled his sight from the glow, and jogged away.

* * *

Frustrated, B'Elanna attempted to dent the bulkhead with her fist. According to sensors and the transmissions they'd eavesdropped on, they knew the slavers had two ships inbound with enough crew and equipment and firepower that would be able to enslave them again. They'd commandeered a cargo ship in good condition and most of the crew was aboard, but she still couldn't override the lockout systems. Already their ship was surrounded by a small army, and the power grid had almost been restored to normal. "Dammit!"

"What'd the wall do to you?" Tom joked as he entered.

She threw a tool at his head that he casually ducked.

"Captain wants a status update."

"You can tell the captain there's nothing to update. I've turned on the lights and that's all!" Frustration tightened her voice.

"And you've done a fine job of turning on the lights." He attempted to joke. "It's just the rest of the stuff, we'd like to have that online too."

"If I could get past the lockouts, I..." Restraining from bloodying his pretty face took everything she had.

Shuffling footsteps came around the corner. Chakotay and Harry had Seven's arms around their shoulders, carrying most of her weight, but she looked much healthier than a few hours ago. "Perhaps I can be of assistance, Lt. Torres?"

"Seven?" Tom was first to react. "You look great."

"Thank you, lieutenant." Seven dipped her head, her characteristic bun a mess, tendrils of blonde falling everywhere. But she looked like she'd finally gotten a decent night's rest, or at least her equivalent of it.

"It actually worked? Seras was able to duplicate the energy output of your alcove?" B'Elanna could see the proof before her, had already witnessed the power grid disruptions, yet her mind was having trouble accepting it.

Chakotay stood back while Harry lowered Seven to the chair. "For almost the entire time. I don't know how you managed it, B'Elanna, but thanks for convincing her to help us."

B'Elanna blinked at him.

"Yes. It is impressive that you were able to recruit such an ally." Seven added.

"That woman didn't need our help to get off this planet." Chakotay finished confusing B'Elanna. Didn't Seras volunteer and then ask for passage on _Voyager_ as payment? She thought hard and realized she hadn't told anyone except the captain about that. Where was the mystery woman? She suddenly missed her and worried that she'd been injured or left behind.

Tom leaned on a console. "Then how did she get put in chains anyway?" He glanced at his sore wrists.

Chakotay added, "Or maybe we should be asking why."

"Maybe we should, but right now it's more important to give Seven space to work." B'Elanna pointed out. She almost slapped herself. Willingly giving the former Borg complete reign on one of her projects was simply unnatural. The chief engineer sighed and wondered if she was going insane. By Chakotay's surprised expression, she wasn't the only one wondering that. He smiled and gestured for B'Elanna and Tom to follow him from the room, leaving Harry behind to hover anxiously.

Seven didn't even give them a backward glance, her attention already focused on breaking into the system. Once they had been herded from the room and the door allowed to close, B'Elanna turned on her commander. "Where's Seras?"

"With the captain." He answered.

Relief flooded B'Elanna, her worries assuaged. "She's okay then?"

And her worries came racing back at the expression on Chakotay's face. "We don't know. She's been unconscious since she finished with Seven. Tom, the captain wants you..."

"To go play nurse since that is my duty when I'm not piloting something. Yeah. Yeah." He sighed. "Deck three still?"  
Chakotay bit back a reprimand, saving it for another time. "Yes."

Tom strode off, with B'Elanna hot on his ion trail.


	7. Jump

A/N - Seras is such a powerful character that I'm wondering if she's becoming Mary Sue-ish. Don't let me let that happen! I'm doing my best, but ... sometimes I make mistakes and need to be told about them ;)

* * *

**Chapter 7**

_**Jump**_

Neelix had organized the crew not currently assigned duties into one of the massive cargo bays. Wandering through the tired huddles of people, he offered optimistic praise for everyone's hard work and effort to get there. And where needed, he offered condolences and optimism. Since being taken from _Voyager_, they'd lost two crew from the lower decks. Losing friends, family, like that was hard, but was unfortunately common enough that most weren't outwardly affected by the losses. He sighed at memories of those he had known and lost, then hurriedly pushed it out of mind. Behind him, little Naomi Wildman smiled at a crewman and offered him food cubes.

He met Samantha Wildman's gaze and felt the same paternal pride he could see in her eyes. The child was growing up through hostile situation after another, yet maintained an empathetic nature. Neelix accredited her mother's wonderful parenting, his own upbeat godparenting, and the excellent role model she had in Captain Janeway. Currently, the captain was overseeing the injured while Tom was away. Scrutinizing a tricorder, she frowned at the mystery woman who had been brought in unconscious. He was curious about Seras, but had duties he needed to attend to, like the imperious tugging on his sleeve that Naomi was performing.

* * *

Annoyed at the standard tricorder's readings of Seras she couldn't interpret, Janeway missed the Doctor's caustic, but professional and knowledgeable presence. Hopefully, his program had remained undamaged-even better, undetected-by the thieves. While she was hoping, she may as well wish that the Doctor had retaken the ship by himself and was in the process of returning to scoop them up. Her musings were interrupted by the abrupt appearance of her chief engineer.

"B'Elanna, can we access the controls yet?" She asked hopefully.

"Not yet." B'Elanna was focused on Seras. "Seven is working on it."

"It's hard to believe that this woman," an open palm was directed at the sleeping stranger, "Essentially became an organic Borg alcove." Janeway hummed. "Wouldn't the Borg love to hear that."

Alarmed, B'Elanna's dark eyes flashed to her. The impact of what she had just said fully dawned on Janeway, and adrenaline stressed through her tired body. An individual like Seras being acquired by the Borg was a terrifying thought. She didn't want to imagine a drone that could channel and manipulate energy like that, let alone the entire Collective. "Let's hope they never do."

Together, they found their regard settling on their sleeping ally.

"Captain, how did you disable the alarms back at the control station?" B'Elanna asked quietly.

"Probably the same way you got into the shackle control system," she replied. "With Seras' help."

B'Elanna knew her face was asking 'how'. And the captain went on carefully. "I pointed, and she jumped."

"Who jumped?" A throaty grumbling came from nearby.

Bedside manner far gentler than the Doctor's ever was, Janeway smiled and reached a hand to Seras' shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just ran in the..." trailing off, she squeezed her arm and shrugged. She looked away, over the crowd of people. "Too much running, not enough sleep."

The _Voyager_ women both wondered at the off-key reaction. B'Elanna opened her mouth, but couldn't get words out, all of them tangling in the back of her throat.

"You fainted from lack of sleep?" Janeway asked.

Seras turned to her. "Yeah."

"Not from," Janeway gestured without direction.

It was like watching curtains being drawn over an open window the way Seras' face went from open and trusting to impassive and cold. "My energy manipulation," a ripple in her features, "Muscles have been exercised to the kind of endurance that Harry's body has been honed to. The way he can run without sweating."

"Seven to Captain Janeway," forestalled the furious questions they wanted to ask.

"Go ahead, Seven."

"I have broken past their security and have full control of the ship systems."

Into command mode, Captain Janeway burst in a flurry of orders and movement, directing her crew to get the ship into space. Smoothly, that's exactly what happened. They were in space and in pursuit of _Voyager_ at warp three within half an hour. Of course, there were also ships in pursuit of them. Probably. There wasn't anything resembling it on sensors. Tuvok remarked that they may simply wait in ambush for them near _Voyager_, and a couple days later, he was proven correct.

Between B'Elanna's idea of using a nearby ion storm to mask their presence and Tom's usual fantastic maneuvering, they avoided the ambush and approached their ship without detection. A few thousand kilometers away, they hid inside the same asteroid belt that _Voyager_ was stashed in. Surreptitious scans revealed that shields were down, warp core was offline, and only twenty-eight thieves were on their ship.

To be able to use the cargo ship's inferior transporters, they'd have to get much closer, within easy detection range of every enemy ship. And only five crew at a time could be transported. It was probably why the thieves posed at legitimate merchants, in order to get close enough to their quarry to attack. It was impossible to know which of the safeguards and computer traps the thieves had managed to overcome. For all they knew, _Voyager's_ internal sensors would noticed the nanosecond the crew tried to beam onboard. They needed the element of surprise on their side to successfully retake their ship.

"Ideas, anyone?" Janeway asked her senior staff.

There were quite a few, and they proceeded to pick them apart and argue over them for an hour. Pressing her fingers to her skull, Janeway fought the headache growing behind her eyeballs.

"Captain, how did you disable the alarms back at the spaceport?" Tom's question silenced the room.

"I asked Seras to do it. All she needed from me was to know which system it was. I'd noticed strips of unlit lights that reminded me of our own alert lights. She slapped a hand over the power conduits and that was it." Janeway responded.

Chakotay stalled whatever Tom opened his mouth for. "I don't think it's a good idea to keep relying on our mysterious friend like this. We still don't know enough about her."

"We don't even have a plan yet, Chakotay." Arms crossed, B'Elanna glared at him.

"And we don't know what her breaking point is either." He countered. "You remember what happened after she killed those aliens. What if she breaks down again at a critical moment? We can't make plans that center around her."

Janeway's hand cutting through the air kept B'Elanna from arguing back. "He has a very good point. We will figure out how to retake _Voyager_ without relying on Seras."

* * *

Several hours later, they had a sound plan that involved distraction, quick movement, and a lot of luck. The crew was being directed in what to do when Seras approached the captain. "What can I do to help?"

Not expecting the woman to bluntly offer assistance, Janeway floundered for a breath.

"I've done what I could to stay out of your crew's way and help Seven regenerate." Her head dipped in regret. She went on, her voice gaining strength. "Though I think I've damaged her implants as much as I've helped. I don't have much technical expertise or martial training, but you've seen what I can do. I can't stand slavers, and I want to help you retake your ship. Give me something to do," was ended with barely contained fire.

Strongly, the captain was reminded of the fire in her chief engineer. She smiled, liking and respecting this stranger even more. "No wonder you worry my first officer. You're a lot like B'Elanna."

Seras blinked at her. "I am?"

"Passionate and fierce about what you know you can do, what you believe to be right." Janeway explained and studied the young woman. "She respects you."

Confusion crinkled her forehead. "She does?"

"If she didn't, she wouldn't have been arguing with Chakotay about your intentions at every turn." The captain said. "Whatever you thought about her hitting you, it wasn't because she bore you any ill will. It kept you from drowning in your emotions, and she trusted you not to kill her even after that nasty burn you gave her."

Multiple face contortions danced on Seras, and she fidgeted.

"You seem to be pretty good at distractions. How do you feel about joining a team in one of the shuttles we found yesterday?"

* * *

Tom peeked at the two people in the tiny shuttle with him. The security crewman looked nervous, sweating and casting frequent glances at the other occupant. Seras seemed calmer, but was fixated on the windows, staring out into space. Curious, he wondered if she'd never been in space before she was kidnapped.

The chronometer indicated that it was time to start their distraction. He informed the others, "Time to play ball."

Seras gave him a weird smile and blew out something soft under her breath. A moment later, she lit up the area around the shuttle with enough energy flux to look like a problem.

* * *

From the ops station on the bridge of the cargo ship Harry reported, "They're taking the bait! Both ships are chasing the shuttle."

"Advance team, go!" Janeway barked.

* * *

Materializing directly into Engineering, the five-person team shot down the thieves working there before anyone could sneeze. B'Elanna dashed to a console and checked on internal sensors. "They're down. No one knows we're here."

"Chakotay to the captain, plan A is a go."

"Acknowledged," came her buoyant reply. Another five crew materialized and were sent out into the ship.

On the bridge of _Voyager_, Chakotay cheerily smoked the alien sitting in the captain's chair. He won himself a nice burn across his shoulder for not taking out the armed guards first, but they went down quickly enough. All over the ship, reports came in of success with retaking of their home. By the end of the day, every last intruder was securely stripped of weapons and locked in a cargo bay, one of the escort ships destroyed, the other disabled. Two days later, the cargo ship had been stripped of everything useful, excluding minimal life support. Janeway ordered the thieves over to be secured in the cargo bay of the ship, and a message sent to a nearby civilization that promised to deal with the slavers.

_Voyager _was put on course toward a promising star cluster, and a volunteer skeleton crew was manning her while the rest were assembled in the messhall. The place smelled heavily of rotten leola root, burned electrical, phaser discharge, and unwashed bodies. Most of the crews' belongings had been ransacked, their few momentos of the Alpha Quadrant stolen. Quarters were in disarray or heavily damaged. More than a few would be sleeping in another empty cargo bay for a while.

They were gathered to hold a memorial for the dead. But Captain Janeway wasn't about to let her crew wallow in sadness. Yet again, they'd battled impossible odds and survived. With a little sneaky planning with Neelix, she'd planned a little party. First, she said glowing words about the fallen. Then, she gave a heartfelt speech about family and home and how splendidly everyone had done and how proud she was of everybody. And when Neelix and Seras indicated readiness, she announced how the chef had found enough real food to have a celebratory meal. An excited murmur swept through the crowded hall.

But Janeway wanted to see them cheer and smile. She nodded at Seras. Hairs along her neck suddenly stuck out, and she grinned at the curious faces people were making. Over their heads, little sparks and arcs of light snapped and popped like fireworks. Tom led the senior staff with clapping and stomping while Neelix taught the crew a little song he had come up with. It was only six verses, but had a catchy melody and simplicity that everyone could pick up and carry. When the confiscated stash of alcohol was produced, even little Naomi was allowed a taste, though she spat it out, disgust written across every millimeter of her. Neelix' song was sang far into the night, only getting better as the alcohol loosened voices and encouraged hugging and convinced the more enthusiastic to dance.

Toward the end of the evening, Janeway was more than a little bleary, but not enough to be too unprofessional. She grinned widely at her crew, taking in their smiles and hugs and clapping shoulders and even a few stolen kisses. Content with their momentary happiness, Janeway relaxed in a torn chair beside her oldest friend.

Tuvok sipped at finger of alcohol still in his glass. Likely, he would not refill it, but Janeway grinned at his participation. He looked at her with his very Vulcan eyebrow raised. A ghost of an expression flickered on him. "You are enjoying yourself," she accused.

"I am pleased to watch the crew celebrate our return to_ Voyager._" He replied. It was the closest he would come to agreeing. Janeway was content with that as well. She raised her glass. "To _Voyager _and her crew."

His glass tapped her own. "Indeed."

* * *

"This is your ship, huh?" Seras' neck was craned as she took in the height of the warp core.

B'Elanna considered the inactive reactor with her. "No."

Attention snapped to her. "What?"

"This is our home," was the soft reply. "Every scorched centimeter, offline system, cracked bulkhead, fried relay, and," she looked around with an affectionate smile at the drab grey walls. "Boring paint choice. _Voyager _is our home."


	8. Vague Answers

**Chapter 8**

_**Vague Answers**_

"Hey." Tom jogged up to Seras in the corridor.

"Going to the messhall for lunch?"

"Is there another place I can get food around here?" Seras returned.

"If there is, no one's told me about it." He grinned and slapped a hand to her shoulder. "Tonight after shift, do you wanna join us in a game of soccer?"

Seras blinked at him. "Soccer."  
"It's an old Earth game. We've got a court rigged up in a cargo bay and need players. Don't worry, you won't be the only one who doesn't know the rules." He assured her.

"I don't know," she tried to hedge.

He wouldn't hear of it. "Come on. It'll be fun." Seeing her immune to his charm, he tried something else. "Harry and B'Elanna will be there. And with your help, we can convince Seven and Chakotay. With them on our team, we can't lose."

* * *

Halfway through the first quarter, Tom bent over, panting and staring at Seras. "She caught on fast."

It had been Harry's grand idea for a males versus females game. Seven and B'Elanna outmatched them with physical superiority, and Seras was showing an uncanny skill with the game's movements. With the captain there to marshal them, and their backup players, into a coordinated attack force, the guys didn't stand a chance.

Janeway's cheeks hurt from grinning so widely at her team as they took a break mid-game. "You move like you've played this game before, Seras. Do you have a similar game where you're from?"

The way the stranger began laughing was cheery, but confusing and a bit worrisome with its edge of hysteria. "Yeah, yeah we do."

* * *

Helping out with ship-wide repairs, specifically with engineers who found Seras useful was part of her daily routine. At least, that's what the reports told the chief engineer, and her eyes when she saw the woman every day. Since the spaceport, they had only spoken that one evening, rather drunk, and B'Elanna had given Seras an impromptu tour of Engineering. Yelling during that game they'd played didn't count. The need to make amends had grown stronger in her every day since. And her curiosity about the woman pushed her to request Seras' help hunting down abnormal power fluctuations in the forward sensor arrays.

"How did you enjoy soccer?" B'Elanna asked as she yanked off the access panel. Behind it was yet another misaligned plasma relay.

Seras eyed her before responding. "I really enjoyed it. Took me back to my childhood."

"Must have been a pretty good time for you."

"My nanny was always finding ways to involve me in local youth clubs. So-" she coughed, "Sports socialized me with peers my own age."

"As opposed to what?" Demanded the very curious engineer.

"Adults more interested in business than kids," spewed out of Seras. "I never spent more than a few months anywhere. My parents traveled all over the," blink, "A lot of places." She looked like she was surprised to have said so much. Her jaw clamped shut, a clear sign she didn't want to explain further.

Checking the readings on her tools, B'Elanna hummed. "That explains your ease with strangers." She finished the maintenance and stretched. Seras fell in beside her as they continued and pointed out the next place to stop before B'Elanna's tricorder could.

"Why did you ask me to help? You could have sent any engineer with a tricorder to chase these fluxes."

Hands on the access panel, B'Elanna slumped. "I," she straightened and faced Seras. "I feel like I should apologize for what I did back when we were escaping that slave world. Hitting you should have been a last resort, not my first choice."

One hand already on her wrist, Seras rubbed it with her thumb. "You didn't have time to let me be an emotional basket-case. An apology isn't necessary."

B'Elanna frowned, started to speak again.

"But," lips pulled up gently, "It's appreciated."

Crewmen appeared in the corridor, offering friendly morning greetings. Like everyone else, they looked haggard, in need of sonic showers that lasted more than the allotted five minutes, filling meals, and fresh uniforms. But, replicating new uniforms was a luxury _Voyager_ didn't have the energy for, cleansing them also considered a luxury, and the only thing to eat was the food cubes that Neelix had somehow acquired. And there wasn't tea to wash it down with.

Seras was yet wearing the clothes she'd had on the planet, and her hair still untamed, but she wasn't covered in a layer of dirt anymore. Her cheeks seemed more hollow without the filth. The scent of burned things clung to her. Skittish was a good description for the stranger. And wary, distrustful, dangerous, unpredictable. B'Elanna had met more than a few Bajorans exactly like Seras. Bajorans who had spent lifetimes under the cruel thumb of their Cardassian masters. Victims of extreme cruelty, survivors of enslavement and or prison camps or other situations equally as horrible.

The Maquis in B'Elanna demanded getting to know Seras better, to find out if she could help make things right. Her Klingon heritage roared at the thought of such dishonor dealt to the woman. Both, and the rest of her felt profound respect for Seras at surviving and doing everything in her considerable power to help the crew of _Voyager_.

"You're going to have to tell me what to add to the list of things I owe you."

Seras sputtered. "W-what?"

"I think the only part of the bargain I've been able to hold up is passage on _Voyager_. What was it," B'Elanna thought hard. "Clothes, hot meals, uhh..."

Laughter twinkled in Seras' eyes. "A massage and private quarters."

"Yes. Those. Now, since arriving on the ship, you've gotten exactly none of those. And you've done above and beyond the original agreement. I'm sure I owe you a few crates of tea or ale or latinum!"

"Latinum?"

A smile lifted her cheeks and exposed her teeth in a sly grin. "Ferengi love the stuff."

Chuckling, Seras nodded. "Maybe I should acquire some, in case I run into any of these Ferengi. They seem like difficult customers."

B'Elanna wanted, knew she should for the good of the crew, to ask about Seras' breaking point, yet laughing with her, seeing her smile... She pushed those questions aside.

* * *

Deuterium levels were at critical lows. _Voyager _couldn't even crawl anymore, and she was hidden in a nebula, all available power being shunted to life-support and astrometrics in hopes of finding any source of fuel. Among the floating detritus of planetary stuff, they came across a derelict vessel that sensor readings indicated had useful material on it. The Delta Flyer, _Voyager's_ baby, a shuttle that the crew had especially designed for the hazards of the Delta Quadrant, was filled with an away team and sent to investigate.

Harry was studying his tricorder, following a trail to the ship's engineering section, Seras hot on his heels. He gave her a glance. It had taken the captain ages to let Neelix or Kes or Seven join away missions after they'd first joined. But Seras had been included without hesitation. He supposed it was natural, with her gifts she was a valuable resource.

A buzzing shiver came out of her mouth. They'd been able to restore life support from the safety of the _Flyer_, but the climate controls hadn't brought the temperatures above freezing yet. Everyone was bundled in cold-weather gear that didn't quite keep out the chilling breath of space.

"Still pretty cold, huh?" He offered a grin.

"Yeah. Wish I'd brought warmer socks." Seras smiled back.

"Maybe we can find some on our next shore leave."

"I hope it's somewhere with warm sun and a beach." A dreamy look came over her. "God I miss the beach."

Surprised, he paused. Seras never talked about her past. Hoping for more, he said, "Me too. I used to go swimming all the time back on Earth with my ex-girlfriend. Of course, the bay around San Francisco was pretty cold, so we would take a shuttle down to Mexico for the warm beaches."

In the beam of his wrist-lamp, her expression went a bit strange. She opened her mouth, closed it. "Sounds nice."

Not ready to give up, he prodded. "What's your homeworld like?"

She trailed gloved fingers along a wall. "Probably a lot like yours. Beaches, clouds, cities, places with warm sunshine."

"What's your favorite place like?" Thinking for sure that she wouldn't answer, he shown his wrist-lamp around the intersection and took the corridor heading toward the aft section.

"A beach beside an almost-desert. Solid blue skies. The salt of the ocean and the spices of the local food on the air."

"Sounds like a nice place." Tom's voice carried to them. "What are we talking about?"

Harry smiled. "Favorite places from home."

Tom nodded. "A pristine white beach full of beautiful, unattached women, hot sun, and a good bar. Add in a few hours of windsurfing, and it would be perfect."

"Sounds like a dream." Seras sighed.

"Believe me, it exists." Tom exclaimed. "I told B'Elanna about it, thinking it'd be a great place for a third date, but she turned me down! Can you believe it?"

Seras gave him a sideways glance. "I suppose some women dream of beaches full of handsome, unattached men."

"I guess." Tom huffed. They walked quietly for a few minutes, Tom thinking deep thoughts. An epiphany came to him. Huffing loudly, he exclaimed. "Harry, your luck with women has rubbed off on me!"

"What?" His best friend blinked.

"I found an attractive woman I get along with, laughs at my jokes, but she wants to steal my fantasies instead of be part of them." He whined.

"I've never had that happen."

"It happens all the time. Now, it's infecting me."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You're making things up again."

"I am not! You always fall for the unattainable ones. Take your crush on Seven, for example." Tom blustered on, smiling at Harry's furious expression. He continued, listing every reason why the logical, efficient, exceptionally gorgeous, but emotionally stunted former Borg would never return Harry's affections.

"She's still learning how to socialize and deal with emotions." Harry defended. "It's hasn't been two years since she was disconnected. You can barely handle emotions; it's why you push everyone away with comedy and sarcasm. That doesn't exactly put you in a position to judge her."

Hitting tender spots, Harry's words quieted the pilot. The hush followed them until Engineering, where Tuvok was already studying the ship's power supply. He greeted them, and they fanned out, hunting and cataloging what could be salvaged. Tuvok noted the convenience of having Seras there to provide power to consoles and minor systems, allowing faster progress than if they'd had to rely on portable generators. He found it, and her work, efficient. Harry grinned at her and explained how that was high praise from a Vulcan. Seras smiled at him. Tom eventually shooed his dark cloud away to ask Harry if the ship's power source could be modified for _Voyager_.

"This thing would take a lot of modifications before we could use it. Without the replicators, we'd have to do everything by hand. Getting it out of here will probably take a couple days by itself. Maybe if no one slept we could get it done. If nothing goes wrong." Harry was scrutinizing it. "I don't know if even B'Elanna could get it running before life-support fails." He didn't have to say it aloud. Everyone knew that they only had four days left.

Defeated, Tom flopped unceremoniously to the floor. He looked at Seras and made a weak joke. "I don't suppose you can be a bypass for our power supply, can you?" The woman could handle an incredible amount of energy, but the amount required for warp was ridiculous, the idea completely...

"Maybe." Seras said. At the disbelieving stares she got, she grew fidgety and shrugged. "I don't know my limits. For all I know, I could be an organic shell for a stabilized quantum singularity."

Tom could see the thought gears clicking in Harry and Tuvok's science-y heads. "Wouldn't be the weirdest thing we've seen."

* * *

B'Elanna jerked up from inspecting the generator's power supply. "She said that?"

"I know, wouldn't it be kind of freaky? Really cool too. And powerful. Can you imagine? An organic seal around a black hole." Tom chuckled.

"No. I mean. Those were her exact words?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I think so. Why?"

"Well, one minute, she seems completely clueless about interstellar travel, the mechanics of starships and the universe, then she'll say something like that, which is clearly a sign of a knowledgeable understanding." B'Elanna threw her arms up. "The woman is a total mystery. She doesn't talk about her species or homeworld, barely talks about her past. When anyone asks, she gives vague answers and deflects with jokes or questions."

"Think she has something to hide?"  
"I don't know. Maybe she's just had a traumatizing past. God knows we all have things we'd rather not talk about." B'Elanna sighed.


	9. Full Power

**Chapter 9**

_**Full Power**_

Seven found it pleasing to have an accurate visual scan and details of Seras now that her implants were functioning within acceptable parameters. Getting them to optimum would require the Doctor's assistance, but the energy shortages demanded that he remain offline unless there was a life-threatening emergency. It was aggravating, yet she was functioning well enough to discern that there seemed to be something wrong with Seras.

She appeared to be ill. Sweating despite the cool air, pale skin, poor heart rate, and generally acting with an air of unease about her. Seven cringed at the noise made by Seras blowing mucus from her sinus cavities into a bit of cloth. Increased mucus output was a sign of distressed respiratory systems. "Seras, are you ill?"

"Fine. I've just got a cold or something."

With the Doctor offline, Seven did not press the issue. She did frown when Seras sneezed, bits of phlegm landing on her biosuit. Allowing her to wipe off the biggest glob, Seven reassured her that she was not highly offended. Then, she made the quickest exit away from her she could, to the safety of Astrometrics.

There, she continued her daily work. According to scans, there was a nearby star system that looked promising in terms of having deuterium and various other raw materials _Voyager_ desperately needed. She reported her findings immediately.

* * *

Sporting a half-smile, Janeway wryly announced, "As soon as we get the ship running again, we have a destination."

Chakotay gave her his best 'I don't like what you've decided on, but I'll follow orders' face.

"I admit that her reticence to share anything about herself gives me pause, but the fact of the matter is that we don't have another choice." She explained.

"I know, captain." Her first officer sighed. "Like B'Elanna said, she reminds me of the Bajorans and others who joined the Maquis. She's a wild card."

Janeway looked him over. "Funny, her being so much like you should ingratiate her more."

"It does." A little smile and shrug. "Still doesn't mean we should blindly trust her."

* * *

Seras looked like a Borg covered in all those tubes and wires. Frowning, B'Elanna shoved that thought out of her head and focused on her job. "Alright, people! This is it. Five. Four." Her eyes found Seras, who coughed lightly and smiled at her. "Three." B'Elanna could not smile back. "Two." She had to take a steadying breath seeing Seras close her eyes. "One."

Power surged from the generator directly into Seras, whose entire body twitched. "Holy shit!"

B'Elanna's finger hovered over the abort command.

"Oh. This tingles," came the gasping laugh from Seras that deteriorated into a thick cough.

"Seras, you okay?" B'Elanna called out, having difficulty with the sight of Seras glowing.

"Yeah." She wiped at her nose, and her next words were sinus-thick. "This is, whoa. Head-rush." Her features took on the effort of concentration, and the warpcore's readouts lit up.

Beside her, Vorik whispered, "Fascinating."

* * *

"Captain, the readings have stabilized. I can give you warp three." B'Elanna reported.

"That's more than we hoped for." Captain Janeway looked around at her battered bridge and tired crew. She gave them the best confident smile she could. "We don't know how much time Seras can give us. Make every minute count, and we'll get through this."

* * *

_Voyager_ burst out of the nebula, right into the middle of a cloud of ships that attacked without warning, and jumped into warp. Under fire, the captain ordered for power to be rerouted from propulsion to shields. Engineering erupted in orderly chaos, shouting and running as the crew did their best to keep the ship fed with power.

An explosion rocked the ship. One of the engineers started screaming and B'Elanna stalked up and slapped him into complacency. Ignoring the feeling of deja-vu, she growled. "We are not going to die today, crewman. Now, get up, keep your mouth shut, and do your job."

He scrambled off.

"Bridge to engineering." The captain summoned. "What's our status?"  
B'Elanna checked the readouts yet again. "The power levels are the same. Shields will fail in ten minutes at this rate. You can have warp or weapons, not both."

"Isn't there anything you can do? Without the shields," even Janeway was known to lose her composure occasionally. It still shook B'Elanna to hear fear coming from her captain.

"Captain, I can't give you power that isn't there. I," she lost her voice seeing a sudden spike in energy readouts. The glow from Seras increased until it was almost unbearable.

"Lieutenant, what's happening?" Janeway demanded.

B'Elanna gathered her wits. "Captain, we're at full power."

On the bridge, surprised exclamations erupted, everyone demanding permission to use that power. Janeway ordered a barrage of phaser fire to punch a hole out and for Tom to kick it into maximum warp. It held steady for ten minutes, then the power levels fluctuated.

"They're still on us, captain." Tom reported.

"Engineering?" Janeway called.

Staring in disbelief, B'Elanna shook her head. "It's the generator, captain. It can't maintain this level of output."

The power levels dropped significantly, forcing the ship down to warp five. There was a growl and coughing from Seras. B'Elanna cursed the generator. It began to emit dangerous readings. Slamming her con, B'Elanna snarled. "Captain, it's starting to overload. We have to shut down."

She heard Seras make something like words. Without a second thought, B'Elanna got close enough to hear and feel a nasty static shock. It snapped audibly, and she clenched her teeth to keep from crying at the pain.

"Sun. Go. Now." Seras panted and coughed, spat phlegm to the floor.

"Son?"

The comm channel was still open, and Harry's voice rang out. "Solar energy? Is she asking for solar energy?!"

"Solar!" Seras barked, and the power levels surged dangerously. A spike of energy picked B'Elanna up and threw her into a bulkhead.

"Chief!" Engineers came running to her rescue.

She cradled her aching head and waved them off. "I'm fine. Go."

On the bridge, Janeway was already receiving a report from astrometrics on the nearest solar body. Tom didn't even wait for the order. He changed course.

B'Elanna shut down the failing generator the nanosecond _Voyager_ was within the star's gravity field. The glow in engineering died, and Seras ripped off the bundles of cables connecting her to the generator. Loud, violent curses came from her for a brief moment. Coughing bent her over, one hand to her chest, the other a knee for support. Spittle dripped from her mouth. Again, she spat on the floor. Any other circumstance would've had B'Elanna ripping her a new one for that act. She stayed at her post and watched as she took the cup of liquid an engineer thoughtfully offered, sipping it and panting, sweat soaking her clothes.

"Are you okay?" B'Elanna tried, worried by the woman's pallor.

"Peachy," came from a clenched jaw. Seras' eyelids closed again. B'Elanna's hair stood on end, and a massive shudder gripped the entire ship.

* * *

Flares of energy sent crewman flying in engineering. Vorik approached B'Elanna. "Chief, we need to evacuate."

A power conduit erupted, spewing plasma that had one engineer screaming as his flesh melted from his arm, and others scrambling to contain. The man was ushered from Engineering while B'Elanna shut it down and rerouted power. She watched an engineer extinguish the fire manually. "Fine. Get them out."

Vorik's lips pressed tightly together, but he obeyed her order, and when she didn't join their evacuation, he knew that there were only two ways the chief would leave her post. Either she'd have to be heavily sedated and dragged out, or she would exit after _Voyager_ survived the current crisis. He paused at the door. Lt. Torres pulled her sights from the readouts for a moment. Stiffly, she nodded at him. Right before he commanded the doors to seal, he held up his hand in the traditional Vulcan gesture of respect and good will. He watched emotions pass across her face, and the doors closed.

* * *

"Hull integrity is at forty percent and falling!" Harry cried out from his station.

"She's going to rip the ship apart giving it power." Chakotay gasped and locked eyes with the captain. She closed her eyes and touched her temple. "Kill us trying to save us. What Pandora's Box have we unlocked?" She whispered.

Chakotay put a hand on her forearm, long enough for her to feel his support. She nodded at him, glad for it. Buoyed, she returned to the business of keeping her crew and ship together.

* * *

At her favorite station in engineering, B'Elanna worked furiously to stabilize the power input and keep the ship from ripping apart. She refused to think about what might happen if an energy flash were to zap her. Wretched coughing from Seras twisted her heart. The woman was incredibly ill. B'Elanna would bet a month's worth of replicator rations that the illness was causing the dangerous energy fluxes. She wanted to send a message to the Doctor, who would've been activated for the plasma injuries, but her hands and mind were too busy keeping the ship from becoming space dust.

* * *

Systems back at maximum, Janeway directed her crew to defend the ship, and they did marvelously. Rear shields were disabled as Seras drew power from the star. None were able to attack _Voyager_'s vulnerable aft, largely due to the massive solar flares that struck out at any approaching ship. Power disruptions from overloaded circuits and stray energy charges gave the crew trouble, but they fended off the enemy.

By the end of it, fifteen ships had been destroyed and the remaining four were retreating with their proverbial tails between their legs. _Voyager_ had suffered quite a bit of damage, mostly from the unprecedented way it had acquired energy. From hull to engineering, there was a straight line of breached bulkheads. Casualties ranged from sprained wrists to plasma burns. And Seras was comatose in sickbay, her vital signs barely stable as she fought against a nasty flu virus and what B'Elanna guessed was a corresponding power overload in her skull.


	10. Fear and Rylie

**Chapter 10**

_**Fear and Rylie**_

_ Voyager_ was safely hidden on one of the M-class moons in the same system. They'd used the last of the power from Seras' efforts to land the ship there. Emergency forcefields were deactivated to conserve what little energy remained, so the crew was breathing planet-born air and experiencing temperature changes throughout their days. It was a strange thing, when a spaceship's interior wasn't at a strictly regulated temperature and full of recycled air. In most of the crew's opinion, the fresh vegetables the moon provided more than made up for the strangeness. Anything to not eat food cubes for every single meal.

Away teams were sent around the moon and into shuttles to scout and acquire raw materials from across the system. Beginning the third day planet-side, the senior staff assembled for a meeting. Little had been heard about Seras, and everyone was eager for an update.

"What's the prognosis, Doc?" Tom jumped to ask.

From the screen he was on, the Doctor gave him an irritated eye roll. "Good morning to you too, Mr. Paris. I have good news, bad news, and strange news. Which would you like first, captain?"

Intrigued, Janeway leaned forward expectantly. "The strange."

"Seras is human."

Murmurs erupted across the table. "The human species is incapable of the feats of power that Seras has performed." Seven rebutted.

"That may be, but her DNA is distinctly human." He countered. "Also, I believe that she is not from the twenty-fourth century. Specifically, she's from Earth's past."

"On what basis?" Chakotay asked.

"Scans detected low concentrations of tachyon particles. She didn't have the antibodies to fight off what is a very common flu in the modern Alpha Quadrant. There are levels of toxins in her body not seen since the environmental cleanups on Earth after World World III. And the evidence of," he paused, "Medical procedures performed on her are common in pre-warp civilizations."

There was more to his pause than glancing at notes, which B'Elanna knew he didn't need to do. Medical procedures, that's what Cardassians had liked to do to prisoners. Chakotay caught her eye. He'd caught the hidden meaning as well. More of Seras' behavior began to make sense.

"I've managed to control her symptoms and boost her immune response. However, even though she's human, her brain and nervous system are one mystery after another. I believe they've been damaged, but I can't tell for certain. I'm keeping her in a medically induced coma to give her a chance to recover without further injury." He finished.

At Seras' bedside, B'Elanna stood uncertainly. Hesitantly, she said hello to the sleeping woman and touched her fingertips to an exposed shoulder. Seras was almost cold, her body temperature far from the normal warm B'Elanna remembered. There was a brief power drain on the bio bed, sparks flitted around both women, and then everything reverted as if nothing had happened.

The Doctor swept in. "Fascinating. The way her neurons fire when she accesses energy outside of her body is simply incredible. I hope she can tell me more about herself when she recovers."

"Me too, Doc."

* * *

"How are you not afraid of her, B'Elanna?" Tom asked as they stood beside the biobed, looking down at their mystery friend. B'Elanna visited Seras every evening after her shift, without fail. He couldn't bring himself to do that. What if the woman electrocuted all of sickbay in her sleep?

"I'm just not."

He scratched his head. "I mean, I'm not afraid she's going to wake up and kill us all, but I'm a little apprehensive about her power. What if I make her mad and she blows up a power conduit..."

B'Elanna stopped listening. She brushed hair out of her face to get an uninterrupted view of Seras, who was motionless except for the reassuring movement of breath. When she felt Tom had stopped talking, she looked at him. "Were you afraid of me too? Afraid my Klingon strength might really hurt you instead of just fracturing a wrist during sex?"

His mouth flopped open, and his whole frame drooped. Guilt lined every inch of his body. "I'm sorry, Lana. I'm not proud of it, because I know how stupid it is of me, but I won't deny it and make a bigger jerk of myself."

Sad, yet pleased at his honesty, she pat his arm. "It's okay, Tom. Us being honest with each other is why we're still friends."

"At least we have that." He said.

* * *

Standing near Seras' bed, Janeway waited anxiously for the Doctor to bring her up out of the coma. He readied a hypospray, nodded at her, and injected the woman. Her eyes fluttered, and Janeway smiled in relief, watching her sit up and look around slowly. When her sight met the good holographic Doctor, her eyes narrowed.

"Good afternoon, Seras." The Doctor greeted with his best bedside subroutine.

"It's good to see you awake again." Janeway added.

Seras didn't smile back, in fact, her features became hostile. "Where am I?"

"You're in sickbay," was the Doctor's cheery reply. "I'm the ship's doctor. How do you feel?"

"Fine. Why am I here?" She returned, eyes flitting around.

Frowning at the cold attitude, Janeway answered. "You've been sick."

She got an impassive stare, and Seras slid off the table. Her knees shivered, and the Doctor moved to steady her, but she flinched away.

"Seras, you need to take it easy. You've been asleep for quite a long time." He huffed at the silent glare. "Why don't you tell us what you remember?"

"My name is Rylie." Seras snapped. "And I don't know who you people are, but you're going to let me go before I'll tell you anything else."

"Rylie?" Janeway questioned.

"Who are you?" Demanded the rude patient. Her eyes shot from doctor to captain, and she tried to put as much distance them as possible without losing grip of the bed for support.

Janeway responded. "Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship _Voyager_."

"The Federation what?!" Laughter died before it really began, and Janeway could see Seras starting to hyperventilate. Recognizing the hostility and rudeness as fear, she kept a calm voice and pleasant expression. "Starship. Seras, you've been on _Voyager_ for weeks."

Eyes growing wilder, breath coming faster, Seras hissed. "My name is Rylie."

A whoosh announced sickbay's doors opening. "Seras, you're awake!" B'Elanna's voice rang out.

Seras went completely rigid, her irises disappeared to a slim line, and her voice pitched high. "What the fuck are you?!"

B'Elanna's relieved smile died at the fear and panic on Seras. "What?"

A finger jerked up to point at B'Elanna's forehead, and she jabbered silently, her sight warping to the Doctor, chest heaving, and back to the half-Klingon. She looked at Janeway, and she seemed to become highly confused. "Not human," squeaked out of her.

The Doctor and captain watched with concern as B'Elanna slumped. "Doctor?"

"Maybe it's best if you leave." He frowned apologetically. Janeway nodded her agreement, and B'Elanna stumbled backward, hurt and worry clear as she retreated. When the doors cut off sight of the engineer, the Doctor turned back to his patient. He noted that he wasn't the only one affected by B'Elanna's sad departure. Seras, or Rylie as she insisted, seemed to have a change of heart, her fear morphing to confusion and worry. She started to turn to him, opened her mouth as if to ask about the situation, but she snapped it closed and puddled to the floor.

The Doctor sedated her, and the captain helped lift her to the biobed. "Keep me informed." She cast the mystery woman a concerned glance and left.

"Just you and me now." He pouted.

* * *

Over the next several days, various crew thought to visit Seras. She was cool and calm with them, but showed no signs of recognition or familiarity. Continually, she avoided the Doctor's presence and attempted to leave sickbay until the Doctor told the computer not open the doors if she was within three meters. He studied fruitlessly for the cause of her amnesia while being tortured by her antagonistic presence and antics as she grew bored and restless.

Providing her with PADDs full of novels from her time period eased both of their discomfort. But she would get up almost every hour and pace or climb the beds or inspect the Doctor's office or finger all the instruments or try to use the computer interfaces or complain about his choice of music or... He sighed and hoped the horror would be over soon.

* * *

Sickbay was nice and quiet, exactly the way the Doctor liked it. He hummed and inspected an experiment, rearranged surgical tools, and went over his personal log. The timer on one of the blood cultures dinged. Cheerily, he studied the results. As he compared the results to previous ones on the database, he wondered if Seras' nervous sys-

Seras.

"Seras?" But the sickbay was empty. The amnesiac was nowhere to be seen. Keeping a few choice words to himself, he called the bridge.

"Go ahead, Doctor."

"Seras is missing."

"What? For how long?"

Painfully, he admitted, "I don't know."

"Ensign Kim, scan for her."

Worried, Harry's fingers flew over his control panel. "Internal sensors indicate she's moving, Captain."

"Where?" Janeway demanded.

"She's," Harry looked up, his features contorted. "Here."

The entrance to the Jeffries tube opened, and Seras' face poked out. And as startling as her appearance, she disappeared, the door slamming shut. Janeway jumped up, wanting to give chase herself, but as captain, she grudgingly delegated. "Tuvok!"  
He was already in motion. "Aye."

By the time Tuvok had opened the Jeffries tube again, Seras was not to be seen. Harry had to admit that their strange passenger could move fast. Since the sensors found her, she had already covered thirty meters on her hands and knees. He cringed at what her knees must feel like right about then. All that distance in the cramped tubes and their metal grating from sickbay to the bridge, and now at a high speed...

"Ensign," Janeway's commanding voice drew his attention. "Transport her back to sickbay."

"Aye, captain." He keyed in the orders.

Striding toward the turbolift, the captain was clearly going to satisfy her curiosity. "Chakotay, you have the bridge. Tuvok, you're with me."

The bridge crew glanced at each other. Tom piped up, "Think she'll get out again before the captain gets down there?"

Harry stifled a laugh, and Chakotay smiled. He told Harry to keep a close eye on Seras.

* * *

"This is a spaceship." Trying her best reassuring voice, Janeway explained. "Currently we're parked on a moon, instead of space, but it still isn't an underground laboratory. And we aren't holding you prisoner."

Rebellion oozed from every pore of Seras. "Then why can't I leave this lab?"

"It's been for your own safety, Seras."

"Rylie."

Janeway stared at her. "Fine. Rylie." She liked this Ryliea lot less than she liked Seras. "You aren't allowed to leave until we know what's wrong with you."

"There's nothing wrong with me. I'm perfectly normal."

Normal. What a choice of wording, Janeway thought. There was one thing both Rylie and Seras kept consistent, that reticence to display their power. "Until the Doctor gives you a clean bill of health, you're to remain here."

Giving her a furious, black glare, Rylie didn't reply. Frustrated, Janeway told the Doctor to update her at the next staff meeting and stomped out.

* * *

On screen, the Doctor shook his head, baffled. "I don't know what's causing her amnesia or if it's delirium in disguise. Her nervous system and brain functions related to energy manipulation still elude me."

The senior staff were all upset. Even emotion-controlled, logical Vulcan Tuvok was displaying signs of discomfiture. Seras had already been a mystery, but a very helpful and reliable ally nonetheless. Without her, escaping the slavers would have been extremely difficult. Recovering and keeping _Voyager_ may have been impossible. No one really minded that her help had also put giant holes in their home and stranded them on a moon. It seemed a fair trade.

"And she shrinks away from anyone who comes near, especially myself," he concluded.

"Don't be silly, Doc. She's more terrified of the non-humans." Tone thick with emotion, B'Elanna chuckled darkly. Tom reached over and held her hand. She surprised the onlookers by accepting the reassurance.

"Is she still able to sense energy, Doctor?" Seven spoke into the tense silence.

He scratched his chin. "Well, yes. I believe Seras isn't afraid of me simply because I'm a stranger to her. I believe she knows that I'm not organic at all. And she spends a good deal of time staring at the walls where the power conduits run."

"I have not yet paid her a visit. It is possible that she may recognize my energy signature." Seven hypothesized. "Or she may find it intriguing enough to talk with me."

Janeway nodded at the questioning gaze. "Give it a try, Seven."

* * *

Garbed in her preferred grey biosuit, Seven strode confidently into sickbay. The Doctor met her and nodded in Seras' direction. "Rylie, you have a visitor."

Seras brought her eyes up from the PADD she had been given to read books on. Wary tiredness was directed at Seven. Slowly though, her eyes opened wider, and her posture showed interest.

"Good morning. I am Seven of Nine, astrometrics officer for _Voyager_." She introduced herself and stepped forward until she was within one point three meters of Seras.

"Rylie," was the offhand reply. Her eyes studied Seven intently while the woman stood in a relaxed stance, hands folded behind her. And Seven studied her in return. She appeared much the same as she had before the power generator experiment. There weren't any notable differences she could discern, excepting the lack of virus-induced illness.

The Doctor peeked around the corner after fifteen minutes of silence. Seven was standing in her usual manner, attention fixated on his patient, who was staring right back. Lacking antagonism or fear in her voice, Seras asked Seven, "What are you?"

"I am human." Seven answered.

He smiled, proud of his student's response.

Curiosity wrinkled Seras' brow. She edged off her bed to more closely inspect her visitor. "Why is your name numerical?"

"It was my designation among the Borg." Seven was being intentionally short.

"Was?"

"I was disconnected from the hive mind and regained my individuality thanks to the concerted efforts of the crew of _Voyager_."

Seras asked, "Are there others like you?"

"No. I am unique." She saw Seras' pulse deviate, and her pupils dilated. Tightening, her features indicated confusion. "Are there others like you?"  
"I," Seras looked away, "I don't know."

Hissing, the sickbay doors opened to admit a crewman limping in. "Hey, Doc."

The Doctor sighed. "What did you do to yourself today?"

"Twisted my ankle playing velocity."

Seven made a quiet offer that she wasn't exactly authorized to. "Would you like to take a walk?"

"Hell yeah."

They were in the corridor before the Doctor noticed. When he did, he slammed his communicator to contact Seven only to hear a beep from a nearby biobed. "That arrogant, impetuous," he grumbled to himself and called up internal sensors. Tracking her Borg signature, he was able to find her, moving at a sedate pace with another human. Since she seemed to have made more progress with Rylie than anyone else, he decided to give her ten minutes to accomplish whatever she was playing at. Then, he was going to sic Tuvok on her.


	11. Prisoner Transfer

A/N - well, I've proven myself wrong again. This'll be longer than 25-30k words. *sigh* Probably looking at 45-50k. Ah, but I don't think you'll be complaining too much, yeah :D

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_**Prisoner Transfer**_

Several crew gave them looks, some suspicious, though most greeted them cheerfully. In the turbolift, Seven ordered it to her cargo bay's level and raised an eyebrow at Seras' childish reaction to its movement, whirling around and looking bright-eyed with glee. Barely able to discern its movement herself, she wondered what Seras was experiencing. On the short walk from the turbolift, the woman continued to ogle the ship.

"This is where my alcove is." Seven stood at the open entrance to the bay.

"Your alcove?"  
They entered, and it was gestured at. Without prompting, Seras approached and stepped in, running her hands along the structure. Seven waited nearby. An arc of static electricity sparked between Seras and the alcove. "Your cybernetics are recharged by this thing."

"Yes."

Seras took in the rest of the hold, the various cargo, the walls and consoles. She hopped down and picked up a PADD. "You live in here."  
"I complete my regeneration cycles and spend a large amount of my off-duty hours here." Seven said.

"Don't you have a toilet? Or don't you need one?"

"I eliminate my bodily waste in the same manner as you. It is across the corridor."

"Wouldn't they give you your own place?" Seras was upset.

Seven canted her head. "This is my own place."

"Is all this stuff yours?" The cargo was waved at.  
"No."

"What about privacy? Personal stuff? A chair to relax in?"

These were things Seven had little experience with and didn't know if she wanted them. "They are unnecessary."

Seras huffed and sat on the raised dais of the alcove.

"May I ask you a few personal questions?" Seven initiated the next step of her plan.

There was hesitation, but Seras nodded. "It's only fair."

"Is Rylie your birth name?"

"Yeah. What was yours?"

"Annika. Where are you from?"

"Oregon."

"A state on the western coast of the former United States of America." Seven stated, yet she raised an eyebrow, waiting for confirmation.

"Yes. What about you?" Seras asked.

"I did not grow up on Earth. The majority of my childhood was spent on a ship in space until I was assimilated." Exchanging questions was not expected. Seven was unsure of continuing further questioning, which would be more intimate in hopes of gaining information and trust.

Rylie beat her to the next question. "What does it mean to be assimilated?"

"The Borg are a race of cybernetic beings connected to a single hive mind. To grow their numbers and work toward their goal of perfection, they create more cyborgs through the process of assimilation via injection of nanobots." Seven explained. "Can you sense their movements within me?"

Abrupt stiffness and suspicion flooded Rylie's frame, and Seven worried she had asked too soon. "If I had them all self-destruct, would you die?"

Seven felt a rush of adrenaline at the not-quite-hostile tone. "Yes." Despite the edge of fear, she held still as Seras approached and touched the spot over her cortical node.

"Your energy is," Rylie dropped her hand. "Stable."

"Thank you for the diagnosis."

Taking a step back, Rylie chuckled. "You're not much of a people person, are you?"

"As I spent the majority of my formative years in a maturation chamber, I am learning interpersonal skills at a later stage than most humans." Seven said.

"Are you friends with the woman with the pointy forehead?" The topic was changed.

"Do you mean Lt. Torres?"

A shrug had Seven bringing up the chief's personal data and displaying her Starfleet record. "Yeah. Her."

"I do not believe that our relationship would be categorized as friendly. We are colleagues." Seven waited.

"She's not human."

"Her father was human, but her mother was Klingon."

"She came to see me the day I woke up. When she came in, she was smiling, but I insulted her and haven't seen her since." Seras fiddled with the fabric of her pants. "I was already freaking out because I was in a lab-looking place with a block of energy calling itself a doctor, and her appearance scared me." She looked up. "Why did she come to see me? Why did all of those people give me so many looks, talk to me in the hallways? Why are you so familiar?"

Seven needed a moment to collect her thoughts for a proper response. While she did so, she analyzed Rylie's behavior and concluded that she was distraught. "To answer your second question, you have been of immense help to us. With your help, we escaped a forced labor camp and recovered _Voyager_ from the organization that had hijacked it. You risked your life for this ship and its crew, including myself. You must be subconsciously recognizing my unique energy signature."

The woman breathed heavily. "Torres?"

"I believe that she had come to consider you a friend. She was worried for you."

At that quiet interlude, a security team led by Tuvok burst into the cargo bay. "Seven, are you okay?"  
"As Rylie informed me, my energy is stable." Seven reported, moving to stand slightly in front of her companion.

The lieutenant-commander took in the situation and raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Why did you leave your combadge in sickbay?"

"Rylie seemed like she needed a change of surroundings. I was going to take her to the mess hall next." She said.

"She has not been cleared to leave sickbay. Without her memory, she could be dangerous." Tuvok countered.

"Yes. And with her memory, she is dangerous. Aside from drugging her, we could not stop her from being dangerous. It seemed illogical to confine her when a change of scenery could trigger a helpful memory." Seven argued.

"Tuvok to the captain."

"Janeway here."

"I have located Seven and Rylie in cargo bay two. They were taking a walk."

"Escort them back to sickbay. I will meet you there."

"Aye, captain."

* * *

On the way back, crewmembers hopped out of the way. There were not any of the friendly overtures, not with a security detail surrounding them. Seven checked on their mystery passenger to find her staring over her shoulder.

"Seven of Nine, do you have crew that wear energy suits?" She asked.

Seven stopped. "No. Explain the question."

"That man in the red back there, the one with the shaved head. He was covered in one. I don't think he looks like what my eyes saw."

"Tuvok to the bridge. We may have an intruder."

"Acknowledged." Chakotay's voice answered.

"Take her to sickbay, Seven." Tuvok ordered. "The rest of you, come with me." They jogged after Ensign Bradley.

* * *

"Who are you?" Janeway demanded of the alien sitting behind the brig's forcefield. "Why are you on my ship?"

"I am Lerq. We are studying you." It replied.

"Who is we? Why?"

"We want to know about you."

"How many are on my ship?"

The alien stared at her.

"How many?"

Its lips pulled back, exposing sharp green teeth. The captain retreated and ordered that all repairs be focused on sensors, and for security to start combing the decks, armed with phasers. She wasn't taking any chances, not while they were sitting ducks on the moon's surface.

* * *

"Until scans can give us more than vague readings, everyone is to stay vigilant." Janeway ended the morning staff meeting.

"Captain, it may be helpful to give Rylie personal quarters." Seven stopped Janeway from leaving. "She reacted unfavorably to the lack of privacy and personal effects in my cargo bay."

"Seven, I appreciate your insight, but this isn't really the time." Janeway brushed her off and tried to leave again.

Seven stood. "This is exactly the time, captain. She has been of extreme help to us, even after losing her memory. Without her, we would not have known about the intruders. According to my sociology research, her vulnerable state is precisely when we should be treating her as a full member of this crew. Or, at the very least, a dignified passenger, not a dangerous patient to be kept under the Doctor's constant scrutiny, whose time would be better spent helping engineering to repair the bio-circuitry on _Voyager_."

B'Elanna had paused at the threshold at the mention of Rylie. She went to back up Seven's argument, but Tuvok beat her to it. "She presents a credible argument, captain."

Headache already pounding, Janeway was in little mood to argue. She had more important things to worry about, like impostors on her ship. "Look, we simply don't have the room. Everyone but the senior officers are already sharing bunks because of the damage that," her voice rose in exasperation, "We don't have the time or energy resources to repair."

Not having her own personal quarters, Seven delayed in offering to share her cargo bay. It gave B'Elanna an opening to blurt out. "I'll share, captain. Or with another crewmember, so she can bunk with a human."

Captain Janeway gave her a startled look, headache momentarily forgotten.

"I don't want to be a spoilsport, but I feel like someone should play devil's advocate here," Tom interjected from behind B'Elanna. The room's attention on him, he plowed on. "I like and trust Seras as much as the rest of you, but wasn't there a good reason we put Rylie under observation? Who knows what kind of person she was before B'Elanna met her."

"Exactly, Tom. We don't and this is a good way to find out." B'Elanna fired back.

He wilted at her displeasure. Janeway shot looks to each of them. "We're outnumbered, Tom. Alright, Seras can share your quarters, B'Elanna. You can collect her after shift. And you are going to be responsible for her."

"Yes, ma'am." B'Elanna and Seven exited together.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" B'Elanna stalled in front of sickbay and turned to Seven, who had shown up as well. "I am not sure, lieutenant."

The half-Klingon huffed. "It was your idea."

"And yours to invite her into your bed." Seven retorted.

"I did not say_ that_!" B'Elanna hissed. "I have a couch."

"Why would you have her sleep on the couch when your bed is acceptably large enough for two people?"

"Haven't you ever heard of propriety?"

The doors opened, and the Doctor's annoyed face scowled out at them. "What is all this commotion out here?"

Both women drew to attention. B'Elanna could see Seras peering around the Doctor, and their eyes caught. Nervously, B'Elanna managed a weak smile and was rewarded by Seras slowly returning it. "We're here to offer Ser-ugh-Rylie a different place to sleep."

"Finally." The Doctor huffed. "I thought the captain would never let her out of here. Which one of you gets her cheery presence?"

Taken aback by his tone, B'Elanna said. "If Rylie would like to bunk with me instead of here, she's to be released into my custody."

"This isn't a prisoner transfer, Lt. Torres." Seven berated.

B'Elanna turned on her. "Are you criticizing my phrasing now?"  
"I merely wanted to point out that the captain said Rylie would be your responsibility, not that you would have custody of her." Seven rephrased.

"That's exactly the same thing."

"Is this true? I can get out of here?" Rylie asked around the Doctor's shoulder.

Nervous again, B'Elanna nodded. Seven made an impatient motion and elaborated. "Lt. Torres has offered to share her quarters with you until repairs to the lower decks are completed. Then, you will be given quarters of your own."

"I can speak for myself, Seven."

"Yet you did not."

"Why are you even here?"

"To make sure Rylie found an appropriate living arrangement."

A stare-down commenced between misunderstood intentions and injured pride, but the Doctor quickly intervened with an annoyed _ahem_. "Well, Rylie?"

"Yes!" was the enthusiastic response.

B'Elanna held out a small satchel for the handful of things she'd learned Rylie had acquired. "Pack your stuff."

Seven escorted them to the turbolift and bid them a good evening. The rest of the way was quiet, B'Elanna seething over the ex-Borg's annoying everything.

* * *

Walking into her quarters, B'Elanna gestured at the small sitting area. "We can switch off until you get your own quarters. Couch," the partition vaguely separating the spaces was walked around, "Bed."

"Nice place." Rylie poked at a stack of PADDs on the desk, watched the rotating images in a holo display. "Cool."

"Thanks." One hand on a hip, the other fingered her scalp. "The hygiene closet is there. What do you want tonight, couch or bed?"

Rylie poked in to look at the toilet and shower, played with the lights, adjusted the satchel carrying her change of clothes and PADDs, and returned her nervous attention to B'Elanna. "I'm sorry for being insulting the other day."

The impatience that had been building evaporated.

"I was scared and freaked out, and I overreacted seeing your head ridges. You're obviously a really great person, and we must have been friends for you to go through this kind of trouble for me."

"Thank you," whispered B'Elanna.

Rylie nodded and switched her attention to the dark windows. "Are they always black like this?"

"Computer, lights off." Obeying immediately, the room was put into near darkness only broken by the soft blue strips at the base of the walls. Blinking at the abrupt change, B'Elanna said. "When your eyes adjust, look again."

A couple minutes later, a light gasp sounded. B'Elanna moved to stand near and look out as well. Planet-shine from the violet gas giant was casually illuminating the foliage covered moon. A handful of insects glowed infrequently as they danced nearby. Taking up half of the horizon, the planet itself whirled in color, great storms roiling ferociously on its surface.

"This is real." Rylie sighed. It wasn't a question, and it made B'Elanna smile. "Can you feel it?"

Tension bunched up Rylie's frame. Haltingly, she turned her head toward the other woman. B'Elanna swallowed and asked again. "That's why you know this is real and not a dream, right? You can feel the star's energy bouncing off the planet."

Rylie's eyes glittered as she remained quiet.

"This moon gets most of its heat energy from that gas giant, but the sunlight gets pretty bright. Want to go outside after breakfast?" B'Elanna remembered a moment from the first days of knowing Seras. "For sunrise? Local time and ship time don't exactly match. We can grab breakfast to go."

"Are you allowed to take me outside?" Rylie eventually asked.

"Probably not, but if the drone can get away with unauthorized walks, so can I." B'Elanna grinned. "It wouldn't be the first time."

In her usual expression of nervousness, Rylie was rubbing her arm. "Discipline isn't seriously enforced here?"

There it was, further confirmation of Seras-Rylie's dark past. B'Elanna carefully considered her words and settled on something that Tom might say. "The worst form of discipline around here is a dull duty shift."

"How did we become friends?"

B'Elanna thought through the events on the slave world. "You made me tea."

The hand dropped in surprise. "Tea?"

Giving a little laugh, B'Elanna folded a leg beneath her and slid to the couch. She brushed hair out of her face and told a shortened version of how they met. "I don't know what possessed you to share your secret like that, but that tea was one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me. All three times."

Eyes darted to the planet, then back to B'Elanna. "You knew what I could do, knew how dangerous I was, but you've brought me to an exterior room, with an easily broken window, no guards, and yet, you expect to go to sleep and find me here in the morning. And you're sitting here, at ease and unafraid in my presence."

"I don't know about these windows being called 'easily broken', but yes."

Looking exhausted, Rylie sank to the couch and studied B'Elanna until a growling stomach startled them both. B'Elanna stood, ordered the lights to half, and moved to the replicator. She felt tired and lazy enough to spend some rations on the freshly repaired replicators. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"No."

"What do you want? Name it."

Rylie's forehead scrunched. "Anything?"

"If it's in the database, the replicator can make it."

"Spaetzle and chicken?"

B'Elanna input the request.

"_Please specify type of spaetzle and chicken._" The computer responded.

"That's a yes, but it needs more specifics." B'Elanna smiled and proceeded to teach her house guest how to use the replicator. Dinner was enjoyed in easy quiet, interrupted only by noises of surprise and enjoyment over the food. After, they took turns using the hygiene closet and changing into sleepwear.

B'Elanna was gathering blanket and pillow for the couch, having already offered to take it that night, when Rylie abruptly asked, "Do I call you Lt. Torres?"

"No. My first name is fine. It-"

"B'Elanna." She went after a nod of confirmation. "Seven of Nine showed me your file when I asked about you. Lieutenant-commander B'Elanna Torres, chief of engineering."

"Yeah."

"B'Elanna," was repeated, pronounced as everyone said it. "Why do I feel like I'm saying it wrong?"

There was a smile threatening. "You're not. It's the Universal pronunciation."

Rylie frowned.

"When we first met, I taught you how my mother says it."

"Your mother. Klingon?"

B'Elanna nodded, wondering what else the drone had told Rylie. "It was a little joke on my part. You were a stranger, and I was tired, stressed, and bored. I thought it would be funny to see you struggle with the Klingon version, since most people have difficulty with the language."

"Was it?" Rylie looked like she had her shields ready to flare up.

"You tried until you got it right, which was really fast." The smile won out. "I was impressed."

"Sunrise," came unexpectedly. "Will you take me to watch it? Please."

Thrown by the change of topic, she responded dumbly. "Yeah. Sure."

"And teach me your name again?"

As soft as it was requested, B'Elanna agreed. "I'd like that."


	12. Deuterium

A/N - Have another twist ;)

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_**Deuterium**_

Rylie had been correct in her assumption that B'Elanna wasn't authorized to take her house guest on a jaunt outside the ship. When they came back in, Tuvok was waiting to chastise her, though it was relatively gentle.

"Given that the captain wants you to keep Rylie under supervision, I cannot fault you for personally escorting her outside. However," he went on to tell her further excursions would need to be cleared with the Doctor and captain first. He suggested that he could assign a security person to be Rylie's guide, protector, and supervisor while B'Elanna was on duty. It would give the woman freedom of movement throughout the ship. That was how he convinced both women to allow it.

Tuvok carefully chose an ensign who had proven himself on numerous occasions as escort for visiting aliens. Ensign Moreta was unobtrusive and calm, yet quick-acting in emergency. He took to the assignment with his usual professionalism tempered by an amiable smile. At first, he could only report a stiff indifference shown him by Rylie. He didn't take it personally and gave her friendly bits of information about the ship, the crew, and himself.

Of course, he kept the information and tours away from sensitive areas, but it eventually won a softening of Rylie's defenses. The woman greeted him with a 'good morning' on the third day and when Ensign Kim suggested he eat at their table, instead of by himself, she didn't argue. He was slightly hesitant to share a meal with Rylie _and_ Seven of Nine, but he accepted the offer.

"Is Ensign Moreta an acceptable escort?" Seven bluntly asked Rylie.

"Seven," Harry began.

"It is a legitimate concern, Ensign Kim. If Rylie is uncomfortable with him, then she is entitled to ask for different personnel." She blocked him.

Harry threw his hands out in surrender and gave Moreta an apologetic shrug.

"It's okay, sir. Seven has a point." Moreta said.

Rylie looked her escort over. "He's alright. If he turns out to be a dick, I'll be sure to let you know, Seven."

* * *

"Good day, ensign?" B'Elanna greeted Moreta, who was standing at his usual post just outside her quarters.

"Just fine, ma'am." He smiled.

B'Elanna narrowed her eyes. "You don't look as spent as usual. It must have been good."

He chuckled. "Rylie dragged me all over the ship, same as always, but she let me join her lunch group. It was encouraging."

"Is that so," she mused. "See you in the morning."

"Ma'am."

In her quarters, she found Rylie on the couch, PADD in hand, legs crossed, and one foot swaying to the instrumental music playing. "Hey." The woman smiled at her. "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet. Want to eat here or go to the messhall?" B'Elanna responded with her usual. Only three days, and they already had a routine. She had a hard time believing how readily they got along. That never happened for her, never. Yet with Rylie, it was easy. She was busy being pessimistic about when that would end badly by Rylie waving a hand in front of her face and asking if her stomach had eaten her brain.

* * *

Even after extensive repairs, diagnostics, and adjustments, the sensors could not narrow down beyond several dozen meters of where the intruders were. All they knew was there were at least three of them, but there could be a dozen. None of the crew was missing, which made it even more difficult to find the cloaked aliens. There wasn't any sign of sabotage, theft, nor harm to the crew or ship, but the prisoner in the brig did not give anyone warm fuzzy feelings. Without progress or answers, the morning staff meeting was about to devolve into a pack of raging officers. Janeway couldn't wait until these meetings were weekly again instead of daily.

"Janeway to Rylie." The captain surprised them all.

"Um, Rylie here?"

"Please join us in the briefing room right now."

"Sure." A moment. "Does Moreta know where that is?"

Janeway allowed a small grin to pull at her mouth. Tuvok answered. "Yes. He does."

"OK then."

Chakotay spoke for the room, "Captain?"

"We have to make sure that everyone in here is who they say they are." Janeway replied.

"And what if she isn't?" He replied.

Tom chuckled. "It's easy enough for her to prove herself, but it would be really hard to fake being her."

The commander nodded in agreement. Energy manipulation wasn't a gift just anyone could replicate. "Fair enough."

Ten minutes later, Rylie arrived, perplexed and shy with the sudden attention of the entire senior staff. Her eyes hopped from one to the other, ended at the captain, who spoke. "Thank you for coming, Rylie."

She stood at the end of the table, unsure. "What's up?"

Using a soft smile, Janeway leaned on the table. "Could you do me a favor and tell me if anyone here is wearing an energy cloak?"

"Okay." Rylie's eyes bounced around the room. "No one here. I did see one on the way." She rubbed an arm.

"Why didn't you tell us when you saw it?" Janeway demanded.

"Because you told me to come here, and I'm telling you now."

While the captain rubbed at her temples, B'Elanna gave Rylie a reassuring smile. "I hate to ask, but can you prove you're you? Our tricorders are useless on those cloaks."

Rubbing her arm more vigorously, Rylie seemed lost until she abruptly moved to the room's display unit and put her hand on the black screen. It lit up. She pointed a finger at Tom and grinned in a way that made him frown. A little flash sparked and snapped loudly, followed immediately by Tom shouting and shaking his tingling hand.

"That hurt!" He complained.

"That's for stealing my last bite of cheesecake yesterday."

Tom accused Harry. "Why'd you tell her?"  
"She threatened to short out my door chime!"

"Boys!" The captain raised her voice at them to settle. This time, she kept her smile firmly under control, despite her amusement at her staff's childish bickering and their inclusion of Rylie in their lives. "Now that we're all sure we can trust everyone in this room, we do not discuss it unless Rylie is around. Until we find every last one of these intruders, Rylie will start taking long walks throughout _Voyager_, escorted by a senior officer. Tuvok already has security details sweeping the ship that can be called at a moment's notice. Rylie, you're not to go anywhere alone. Tuvok and Chakotay will work out a schedule."

It felt like a dismissal, and the staff edged to get on with the day. Rylie stared out the window.

"Oh," Janeway added, "And, Rylie?"

"Yes?"

"You're to attend morning staff meetings from now on. Start your walks with Lt. Torres today. Dismissed."

* * *

Once inside engineering, Rylie was greeted by delighted crewmembers welcoming her back. B'Elanna stayed protectively near and eyed the handful of engineers who held back, who wore discontented or fearful expressions. Ensign Obinzi was particularly unhappy at the sight of her, and B'Elanna distinctly remembered her being on the receiving end of an energy burst.

"Not everyone is happy to see our extraordinary passenger again." Vorik noted.

"It's like Seven of Nine all over again."

"By that logic, give it time, and the crew will come to accept her as one of their own."

Surprised, she blinked at him.

* * *

Busy with maintenance and repairs, B'Elanna's temper flared at a stupid mistake by one of her least favorite engineers. She was ready to blow coming out of that cramped Jeffries tube when she abruptly remembered that Rylie should be near and wasn't. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen her. Her panic lasted about four footsteps, which had her leaning over the railing to shout down to the main floor. But she didn't need to yell for help. Sitting on the floor, exactly over the former hole, was Rylie, and she was enthralled with the whirls of the warp core.

B'Elanna watched for some time, amused by her engineers flowing around the obstacle in the path instead of trying to get rid of her. Obinzi gave the sitting woman a wide berth and a scowl after Lt. Carey caught her eye. The man could be a real pain in the ass, yet he was a fine engineer and a good officer. She made a mental note to put a commendation in his records.

Abrupt movement returned her eye to Rylie, who had crawled away and was peaking around the warp core. She went back to her spot and tapped the combadge on her chest. Voice too quiet for B'Elanna to catch, she frowned. A few minutes later, Tuvok and a security team walked in. One of the engineers began running, heading toward a Jeffries tube hatch. Security caught up to the impostor and hauled it off. Tuvok had a quick word with Rylie, then followed his team out, B'Elanna proudly smiling.

* * *

"Captain Proton? Are you kidding me? That's your favorite show from my era?" Rylie exclaimed.

Tom grinned widely, despite the insulting tone. "It's a paramount classic."

"Yeah. It is. But there's ..

Harry's mind caught on the fact that Rylie had just admitted to being from a different time. B'Elanna had suggested that no one press Rylie about her past in order to win her trust, so the crew waited on her to give tidbits about herself. It had been the running thesis that Rylie/Seras had originated from Earth's past, but the woman had refused to let conversations be steered in that direction, and no one had been tactless enough to ask her flat out.

His attention was grabbed by Seras laughing at Tom. "You got lucky that you didn't have to chase Starling through the American ghettos. You wouldn't have lasted a nanosecond, even with a phaser."

Leaning forward, Tom countered. "What do you know about them, huh?"

"I got lost in one once while my parents were at a Chronowerks Industries marketing conference." Rylie said.

"What? How?"

"I was bored, grabbed some money, and left the hotel when my nanny wasn't looking. Somehow I ended up in the wrong part of Los Angeles." Rylie explained. "A man beat me up and stole all of my money, left me crying in the gutter. A police officer literally tripped over me later while chasing some hoodlum. This," she pulled up a sleeve and pointed at a ragged scar on her elbow, "Was from glass or whatever rubbish I fell in."

Out of his mouth before he could think, Harry blurted, "But how? Why didn't you use your power to protect yourself?"

"He hit me over the head with a bottle of alcohol before I even saw him. I can still remember the stink of it." She shuddered.

"How old were you?" Tom demanded.

"Twelve."

* * *

Janeway put down the PADD of daily reports and leaned back on her couch. With Rylie's help, they had found two more stowaways and according to sensors and guesses, there were two left.

"We still don't know why they're on our ship." Chakotay informed her.

"Think it's safe to try to leave this moon before we find out why?"

He took in the landscape that was just starting to become familiar. "It might be safer to be in motion. We're definitely an easy target sitting down here."

"It's been nice breathing fresh air everyday."

"It has," he agreed.

Joining his perusal of their waystation, she hummed. "Tomorrow we'll find out if the hull repairs are sufficient."

* * *

Four days of working doubles was too much. The hull repairs had needed round-the-clock patching once subjected to the rigors of outer space and warp travel. Wiping at her pounding eyeballs, she muttered. "I am so glad tomorrow is my off day."

B'Elanna stumbled into her quarters and disrobed on her way to the sonic shower. Rid of the stench of scorched bulkhead, bio-pack gel, and body odor, she threw on the nightgown hanging ready. Eyes half-closed, she could barely force her legs to the bed and was asleep before her hair settled on the pillow.

Warm coziness greeted her in the morning. She hummed in contentment and slowly stretched awake, enjoying the sure knowledge that she didn't have to do anything except escort Rylie to the mess hall for breakfast with Chakotay. Warm air moved the hair on her neck, and she flew out of bed with a shout.

"Uh?" Rylie's head poked up from the other pillow, voice thick with sleep. "What's noise?"

"Have you been there the entire time?" B'Elanna pointed accusingly.

Rolling to sit up, Rylie blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Unless I got teleported somewhere in the middle of the night. The hell is wrong with you?"

Unsticking herself from the wall, B'Elanna ran fingers through her hair. "I forgot last night it was your turn for the bed."

"Oh." Understanding dawned in Rylie's eyes, but she shrugged and yawned without caring. "I guess neither of us noticed."

* * *

It happened again at the end of the week, when doubles and exhausting work for both of them erased the bed schedule from their heads. The difference was B'Elanna woke up with her head on Rylie's shoulder, arm around her middle, and body curled around her. And she didn't freak out and jump away. In fact, she checked the time, learned she had a few hours until morning, yawned, and remembered a moment when she had fallen asleep wrapped in a coat smelling of alien and Seras. She closed her eyes and guiltily enjoyed having a warm body pillow again. That had been one of the best parts about dating Tom. He was always good for snuggling.

* * *

"What happened to me here?" Rylie kept her eyes on the swirling eddies within the warp core. "I know something really important happened here. And," she finally looked at B'Elanna, "Whatever it was..." Her voice died.

"Rylie," she stepped forward, but her friend ducked away.

"Never mind. Hey, Ensign Borkov, you were going to do some maintenance on deck four, right?"

The ensign in question stammered at Rylie, "Yes, ma'am?"

"Mind if I join you?"

B'Elanna held her tongue and nodded permission to the ensign. For the rest of her shift, she was distracted by Rylie's comment and whether to question her about it later or not. At dinner, she asked Neelix's advice.

"I'm not sure, B'Elanna. Even before she lost her memory, I didn't know her very well." He tapped his fingers together. "But, you were getting close with her. And it seems to me that she trusts you as Rylie. A friend asking about her well-being is appropriate, is it not?" He looked around and leaned in, lowering his voice. "I've found that sometimes people talk better when they understand that I don't tell the captain everything I hear."

B'Elanna nodded, but didn't quite get what the mention of the captain had to do with her situation. It showed on her face, because Neelix added, "People trust confidentiality. Let her know that her secrets are safe with you."

Were they? Trodding down the corridors, B'Elanna questioned herself.

* * *

Rylie was making small talk with her, asking her about the Jeffries tube issues she'd had. At first, B'Elanna had been relieved and was merely waiting for the chance to ease into discussing the warp core incident. It never came. And Rylie started asking about deuterium, its history and use. Something felt off.

"I thought you read about this last week." B'Elanna said, remembering the fiction series Rylie had been engrossed in then. They had discussed the character development at great length.

"Right. Yeah. I just wanted further explanation. It didn't really stick in my head."

"No problem. I know that keeping track of all those valence electrons can be hard. Or was it the relationship with oxygen that confused you?" She smiled.

Rylie laughed. "Exactly. How does that make it a good power source?"

It wasn't that hard to remember that deuterium was an isotope of hydrogen consisting of one proton, one neutron, and one electron. Oxygen had nothing to do with the process it was used in. Rylie wouldn't have forgotten that if she'd actually looked into it. B'Elanna checked the time. Chakotay or Borkov should have dropped by with Rylie over an hour ago. "It's getting late, and I promised the captain I'd start on the lateral sensors diagnostics early. How about I go over it with you tomorrow at lunch?"

"Sounds good."

She got up and tugged off her undershirt in plain sight of her roommate, carefully watching for a reaction. Rylie's gaze remained on her instead of being shyly averted. "You coming?"

Not-Rylie appeared to think about it, yet waved her off. "I'll be there soon. Don't wait up.".

Covering her rush of fear induced adrenaline with a smile, B'Elanna wondered how far she could push not-Rylie. "Are you sure? I might have a little energy for a massage."

The impostor stood. "Who am I to say no to one of your massages?"

"I read about a new technique." B'Elanna waited until it was within arm's reach and stroked its jaw and neck sensuously. It hummed in pleasure. Twisting around, she positioned herself behind and struck it hard. The impostor collapsed. "Torres to security. I have an intruder in my quarters."

Tuvok materialized just as she was securing the intruder's arms behind its back. He had a phaser in hand and took a moment to assess the situation. "Well done, lieutenant. How did you know it was not Rylie?"

"Its acting skills were great." B'Elanna pulled her top back on. "But its assumptions about Rylie were wrong."

He didn't question her methods, though his eyebrow twitched in curiosity. "Do you know where Rylie is?"

"No. Computer, locate passenger Rylie."

"_Passenger Rylie is in cargo bay three._"

A security detail arrived at her door. "Take this intruder to the brig." Two of them were ordered. "You two, come with me."

"Tuvok to the captain."

"Go ahead, Mr. Tuvok." Tiredly, Janeway answered.

"Captain, an intruder has been apprehended in Lt. Torres' quarters. It was posing as Rylie. We are on our way to cargo bay three now." He explained.

Janeway's tone lost all traces of fatigue. "Keep me updated."

"Yes, captain. Tuvok out." They entered the turbolift.

"Tuvok, it was asking me about deuterium." B'Elanna told him as she followed behind.

They stepped into the turbolift. "That is more than we have learned thus far. We must tell the captain."

"After we find Rylie."


	13. Banana Pancakes

**Chapter 13**

_**Banana Pancakes**_

Overriding the locked door at the cargo bay was a simple matter for the head of security. His team charged in, took down one alien and aimed their phaser rifles at another, who was holding Rylie by her neck. She was unconscious and looked in immediate need of medical attention.

"Lower your weapons, or she dies."

Not knowing the capabilities of the alien, Tuvok lowered the muzzle of his phaser, and his team followed. A flash of light enveloped the room, momentarily blinding them. When Tuvok blinked away the dazzle, the conscious alien was gone, and the hatch to the Jeffries tube was open. Immediately, he sent a pair of security after it, though he didn't expect the intruder to be found. He knelt beside Rylie, pressed fingers to her throat. The pulse was flighty and weak, but she was alive. Ensign Borkov had been dead long enough for rigor to set in. He called for an emergency transport to sickbay.

* * *

Nursing a coffee and a headache, Janeway stared out at the stars from her couch. The chime to her ready room let her know that Chakotay was there with his report. He strode in, fingered a little device in his hands and set it on the desk.

"You will take us to our ship, release my people, then give us your deuterium and all information regarding it." The impostor wearing Chakotay's face commanded.

Janeway was getting pretty tired of rude highwaymen trying to steal _Voyager's _stuff. She slapped her combadge, yet nothing happened.

"This produces a dampening field. It will be several minutes before your commander arrives and several more before the doors can be forced." It said calmly.

"Why would I possibly want to give you _Voyager's _deuterium?" Stiff, Janeway responded.

"If we do not proceed to our ship within twenty of your hours, it will come to us. _Voyager_ would not survive a direct confrontation."

Coffee mug held in hand, the captain leaned forward. "I have a better idea. Why don't you get off my ship before I space every last one of your friends in the brig?"

Not-Chakotay cocked his head. "You are not one to kill in," he paused, "Cold blood."

She took a drag of coffee. Her tone was calm and without remorse. "Not usually. You've caught me in a bad month."

That response didn't seem to sit well with him. He bared his teeth. "Kill us, and you will all die!"

A phaser rifle thrust in before the doors finished hissing open. Tuvok didn't waste time and stunned Not-Chakotay. The real commander stepped in. "Are you okay, captain?"

"I'm fine. According to our friend here, we're going to be hunted down in about twenty hours by his ship. Change course, try to find somewhere to hide and prepare the ship for a fight." She finished the last drop of coffee and stood to order another. "Take this one to the brig."

Tuvok gestured for officers to remove the alien and followed in their wake. Remaining in the ready room, Chakotay waited until he was alone with the captain. "Ensign Borkov is dead."

Janeway clenched her jaw, staring at the replicator without ordering.

"The Doctor says that Borkov had a severe allergic reaction to the sedative they used. Rylie is asleep in sickbay. Seven and B'Elanna's upgrades to the sensors seem to be working. The one Tuvok just dragged out of here was the last one." He summed up his report.

Anger hot in her blood, Janeway's voice went gravelly and low. "Today's first good news. The intruder said that _Voyager_ wouldn't survive a confrontation with his ship that'll be looking for us within twenty hours."

"Do you believe him?"

"I have to take the threat seriously."

"Maybe we can modify the shields to match the energy signature of their cloak. We might be able to slip past them." He mused.

Some of the anger fizzed away, allowing Janeway to grin. "Good idea. See if there are any M-class planets along the way. We have some unwanted cargo to get rid of. And if it comes to a fight, I'm going to strap photon bombs to our guests and transport them to their ship."

Chakotay blinked at the ferocity. It wasn't like the captain to be vindictive.

"I'm sick and tired of being picked on by every bully in the Delta Quadrant, Chakotay."

"You won't strap bombs to them." He didn't quite assume.

"Of course not, but it sure would feel good." She sighed. "Go, see about our camouflage."

* * *

Gasping and curses alerted the Doctor that his patient was awake. He strode out of his office, expecting to find a hyperventilating Rylie who would 'freak out' at his inhuman nature. Instead, he found her sitting up, breathing fast, but not overly, and her attention centered on B'Elanna sleeping on another bed. A stack of PADDs trailed from the engineer's hand to the floor.

"She's been here all night." He vented. "The stubborn woman wouldn't even sleep until I threatened her with a sedative and allowed her to use a bio-bed."

She glanced at him, confusion clear on her face.

"How are you feeling, Rylie?"  
"My head hurts."

Picking up a tricorder, he strode over and passed the hand scanner around her skull. "You have some residual swelling in your brain, but the effects of the drug the intruders sedated you with is otherwise gone. I can give you a mild analgesic for the pain, or you can wait a few hours for it to subside on its own."

"Is that what happened? They drugged us?" She asked.

The Doctor sighed, not happy to give the report she deserved to hear. "The intruders used a tranquilizer created within their own bodies. Some evolutionary adaptation to their homeworld, I assume. Unfortunately, Ensign Borkov suffered a fatal allergic reaction to it. He died before you were found."

Blood infused her cheeks, and her jaw clenched, popping out the temporalis muscles. "That motion will likely increase your headache." He tried to help.

Eyes damp with unshed tears, she glared at him from under her brow. It was a look he was familiar with, given to him many times by crewmembers in a great deal of pain. Given that this pain was of an emotional source, he was glad to notice B'Elanna stirring. The woman was not very good at handling emotions tactfully, but she was more experienced in it than he was.

"Good morning, Lt. Torres." He greeted her. "I was just informing Rylie of what happened to her and Ensign Borkov."

B'Elanna sat up immediately, pulling Rylie's attention back to her. The Doctor hastily moved away. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

"Are you okay?" B'Elanna used the necessary rhetorical question.

"I couldn't defend us, B'Elanna." Even with her voice wavering, she managed to pronounce the name like a Klingon. The way her name sounded on Rylie's tongue was... B'Elanna had to mentally kick herself to bring her thoughts back to the present situation. "And it got Borkov killed."

The space between them was covered in a breath. "His death wasn't your fault, Rylie. It was the intruders who killed him."

"You don't get it, I should have been able to use their own energy cloak against them." Rylie choked out. "But I couldn't! And Borkov's dead because of it!"

Anger was as visible as the tears, and B'Elanna was at a loss. She floundered for a response, whether to speak, to pat a thigh, hug, walk away...

From a scream to a whispered plea, Rylie demanded, "What happened at the warp core, B'Elanna? Why am I broken?"

"You saved us. You saved the entire crew and our home." It came easily, that truth. "You used your gift to protect us from a horde of alien ships trying to steal our ship and technology and put us all back in shackles again. You kept us from a hellish life of slavery." Rylie calmed some hearing that, and B'Elanna couldn't help grinning. "You also put some really big holes in _Voyager_ in the process, but we decided that it was an acceptable price to pay."

"How?" Rylie's voice was very soft.

"We still don't understand the mechanics of it," Janeway answered. "But somehow, you ripped the energy right out of a star and transferred it into our power systems."

B'Elanna started, "Captain, how long-"

"Long enough," she interrupted. "Rylie, I've come to consider you part of my crew and because of that, I'll do everything in my power to help you get yours back. If you want it."

Rylie stared at her.

"And it also means that wherever or whenever you call home, we'll help you get there as well."

"No!" Emphatically, she shook her head, panic tightening her features and voice. Little sparks danced around her. "No. I don't want to go back."

B'Elanna finally reached out and took one of her hands, winced at the static shock, but ignored it. "It's okay. We won't force you to."

Janeway's tone had already been soft, and now it became very gentle. "Rylie, you're part of my crew. That means you can call _Voyager_ home if you want to."

Rylie had frantically gripped the hand in her own, and its manic strength shocked B'Elanna. "Can I get out of sickbay? I'd like to leave now."

The captain raised an eyebrow at the intensity in that request. "Doctor?"

"She's in good health. However," he leveled his best stern countenance on Rylie, "If you feel any increase in pain or strange symptoms, report back immediately."

She hopped off the bed, hand still linked with B'Elanna. "Okay, Doc."

"Care to join me for breakfast?" Janeway offered. Pulling her roommate along, Rylie dashed for the exit. "You coming, captain?"

Smiling with consternation, Janeway followed after them. "See you later, Doctor."

* * *

"How are you feeling, Rylie?" Neelix asked. "Good enough for banana pancakes? They're B'Elanna's favorite."

While Rylie cocked her head with a little crease in her brows, Janeway allowed a smile to lift her spirits. Neelix had such a knack for asking the right things.

"He's gotten really good at it. You'll love them." B'Elanna nudged Rylie.

"Alright," huffed Rylie.

Janeway smiled at their interaction. "I'll try them as well."

"Fantastic!" Neelix beamed and sped off with their order.

"You might be happy to hear that the sensors have been calibrated to detect the intruders. They're all in the brig." Janeway said.

"What about their ship?" Rylie asked. "I overheard them talking about it coming to pick them up."

"Did they say anything else?" Janeway asked eagerly.

"It was a couple days away." Rylie shrugged. "Not much that I remember. I think they were scared."

"Days? He told us we had hours."

Rylie was surprised. "No. That I remember clearly. Their ship was far away."

"I wonder why they were on the planet." B'Elanna mused out loud. "Were they waiting for it there?"

"Here we are. Banana pancakes with maple syrup." Neelix proffered a tray of plates and cups. The scent of pancakes and fresh coffee made their mouths water. Conversation turned to favorite dishes and things they missed about fresh ingredients.

* * *

"There's a ship approaching!" Harry called out to the bridge. Janeway jerked up. It was far too soon. "They're hailing us."

"Open a channel." Janeway put on her best command mask.

"Greetings. I'm Master-Commander Dimmos of the Yeern Interplanetary Defense Force." An alien similar to those in the brig greeted them cordially.

Janeway was careful about the relief trying to push its way into her heart. Trickery was common in their lives. "Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship _Voyager._"

"Ah. Captain Janeway. We've heard rumors about you and your impressive ship and crew. I'm pleased to meet you." Green teeth showed, yet the expression wasn't hostile. "Not many escape the _sipu_ slavers alive, let alone retrieve their stolen ship!"

"It wasn't easy." She responded. "What can I do for you, Master-Commander?"

"Scans of your ship indicate that you have several Yeern confined on your ship. We believe that they may be the thieves we've been looking for."

A little slip in her mask, and she glanced at her first officer. He made a hopeful smile. "They were trying to steal our fuel source."

Dimmos nodded. "They escaped with some of our military technology several months ago. If possible, we'd like to get it and them back."

"Gladly." Janeway smiled too.


	14. Cardassian Equivalents

A/N - I'm happy to hear that there are no Sues developing here :)

* * *

**Chapter 14**

_**Cardassian Equivalents**_

"The energy transfer rate is off." Rylie said.

"What?" B'Elanna's head shot up. "It is not. I just calibrated it this morning."

Body still facing the warp core, Rylie looked over her shoulder. "It's off."

Double checking the readings proved Rylie correct. "Vorik, run a level-one diagnostic on the magnetic field restrictors. They're off again."

"Yes, ma'am."

Rylie nodded. She stood around for a handful of minutes, rubbed at her arm, and left engineering. B'Elanna sighed. Ever since Borkov's death, she'd become quiet and withdrawn. The Yeern, with their energy cloaks and all data they'd collected on them, were long gone, taken into custody by Dimmos. In return, he'd given _Voyager_ schematics of the old ship that might still track them and some charts and advice about the next few parsecs of space in return. It was almost anti-climactic, how easily that problem had been resolved.

If only she knew a way to help Rylie like that. Watching her carry the weight of Borkov's death, and the frustration of having lost weeks of her memory and whatever else she refused to talk about, it tortured B'Elanna. She wanted to help, to see Rylie smile at her again.

* * *

Harry took the chair across from Rylie at lunch. "Hey."

She poked at her food. "Hey."

"Whatever it is, you can talk to me about it." He offered.

Rylie pulled her eyes off her food. "You're a sweet guy."

That wasn't exactly the kind of response he'd been prepared for. "Thank you."

"You didn't trust me at first, did you?" She asked.

Furiously wondering if she was remembering anything, he nodded. "I didn't."

Hips and curves and perfection and beautiful blue eyes appeared next to their table. Harry sighed a lovestruck sigh inside his head. "Hey, Seven."

"He was afraid that your assistance would be more detrimental than otherwise." She stated. "He was wrong. May I join you?"

Blushing, Harry waved at an empty seat. "Of course."

A cup of something was set down as Seven glided into place. The implant over her brow lifted, and he realized that he was staring. He looked away to Rylie.

"Seven, why don't you go by your birth name?" Rylie's blunt question startled both of the senior crew. Harry had never had the courage to ask and was eager to hear the response.

"I am no longer the child who was given it," was the cool reply.

"Everyone grows up." Rylie said.

The former Borg lowered her gaze, then lifted it to Harry's. "I have become accustomed to the familiarity with which the crew addresses me as Seven." She returned to Rylie. "I do not wish to be addressed as Annika. She is a stranger to me, someone from another life."

"A stranger..." Rylie trailed off. Sharply, she shot Harry another question. "What was it like the first time you killed?"

He reeled back. "Oh. It, well, it was," his thoughts were back on the _sipu_ planet, in the shuttle, when Chakotay had told him he thought Seras had killed for the first time. "It took me months to come to terms with it."

* * *

Leisurely, B'Elanna was lounging in her comfy armchair, sipping coffee and reading her favorite type of novel, a trashy Klingon romance full of heart-thumping sex. She was thoroughly enjoying her day off. In fact, she didn't intend to leave her quarters for anything short of a miracle. If something blew up in engineering, Carey and Vorik could handle it. She had a stockpile of replicator rations, her novel, and...

"Hey, B'Elanna?" The soft inquiry broke her thoughts. B'Elanna lowered her PADD. Over on the couch, Rylie had been dozing all morning. She was sitting up now, blanket around her hips, hair pointing off to one side.

"Since I woke up after the Yeern drugged me, I've gotten my memory back."

The PADD slipped out of her hand. "Really?"

Rylie nodded. "All of it, the rockslide, you saving me, those weird black plants, the fence," her voice dropped, "The aliens I killed." She closed her eyes, her tone becoming lighter as she continued, "Saving Seven. My first view of the stars from space. Latinum." A smile that B'Elanna echoed. "That crappy generator. Feeling the surge of power I yanked right out of a star!"

"We should play football again. That was fun." She went on.

"Football?" She didn't remember playing a game called football. There was that old Earth game that Tom had wrangled them all into. It involved a ball being kicked around by their feet.

"Tom called it soccer."

"You already knew how to play it." B'Elanna laughed, thinking of how frustrated Tom had been, Seras' strange laughter when the captain had asked if her people played a similar game. "Why didn't you tell us that you were from the past?"

Rylie shifted. "I didn't know what exactly was going on. And I was scared. Trust isn't something I carry around by the bucketful."

Setting aside her novel, B'Elanna sat on he edge of her chair. "You seem to trust us now."

"Yeah, but," another shift and the blanket fell away, "Mostly because of you."

"Me?"

"You have this way about you. It makes me feel safe." Rylie dropped that active torpedo in her lap and kept talking. "I think that's why I made you tea."

Needing a quick diversion to keep from wondering about the times she thought they'd been flirting, B'Elanna asked another question. "Why did you want us to call you Seras?"

"Because I hoped that my life as Rylie was over."

There it was again, that allusion to a dark history. B'Elanna had to know about it. "Why? Why don't you want to go back?" Full of anticipation, she watched in agony as Rylie closed her eyes.

"I spent the last six years of my life being held captive in a military facility. They were studying my powers, hoping to duplicate them." Rylie admitted. "Every morning started with Dr. Awful and his brigade of hollow-souled nurses."

Old Earth's Cardassian equivalents. Fists clenching, B'Elanna hated being right. She listened in horror while Rylie described years in a windowless facility, surrounded by masked guards, medical personnel devoid of empathy and compassion, and constant experimenting. Blood and tissue samples were taken regularly. She shuddered, saying how she never got used to the spinal taps. They loved studying it and extracted it at every chance.

They were even worse than when they would implant various things inside her, wanting to see how different conductors or inhibitors affected her power. The head of the facility took a particular interest in her, pushing her to explore the very limits of herself until she passed out from pain or exhaustion, whichever would come first.

"How the hell did they keep you imprisoned?!" B'Elanna demanded, needing an answer, and a reason to yell.

Rylie stared at her, quieted by the outburst or maybe from being pulled out of her past. "They threatened my nanny and her family, said they'd find, kidnap, and send me the videos of their torture if I hurt any of the personnel or escaped."

"What about your family? Your parents?"

A shrug. "They thought I was dead, probably didn't notice my absence much. B'Elanna," she must have seen the indignation brewing, "They were good people, but not cut out for parenting. I don't hate them for it. My parents found someone who did love me and treat me like her own, and they gave me every resource for learning and growing that their exceptional pockets could afford. I'm sure they gave me a nice funeral and Inga a beautiful severance package."

"Did they know about you?"

"Yes. It started when puberty did. My parents didn't seem much affected, but they interacted with me less. Inga said it must have been a gift from God. Her nephews thought it was the coolest thing ever. She had to blackmail them to keep their loud mouths from telling everyone about it." A little grin curled up. "I never found out what, but they kept my secret and played with me when we were in town. Around my sixteenth birthday, my parents' jobs took us to Beijing, China. Someone in that packed city saw my sparks and talked, because next thing I knew, I had a pounding headache from the sedatives, being told that my death had been faked, and told the rules for keeping Inga out of their hands."

With a sudden thought, Rylie's head drooped, pain creasing her features. "Oh, Inga. I hope she died of old age instead of..."

Arms were thrown around her, B'Elanna trying to exude all the comfort she could. There was a burning in her chest. Fury at the criminals who had stolen years and innocence from Rylie, an intense need to protect her from more harm, and empathy at the loss of family, knowing the pain of feeling like it was her fault roared for top space. Time passed, unnoticed, even when muscles clenched at the awkward angles.

Rylie broke it by standing without warning. "I have to use the wash closet."

B'Elanna swayed at the suddenness. Gathering herself, she stretched out the kinks. She picked up her cold coffee and eyed it. Did Rylie have enough control of her power to heat it? Why hadn't that power ever frightened her? She was staring into the coffee depths when Rylie returned.

"Secrets of the universe in there?" Her voice was hoarse. Swollen and reddish, the skin around her eyes was angry. She held her arm across her chest, hand clenched around a bicep.

"If there are, only the captain can read them." The coffee was set aside. "Do you want anything to drink?"

B'Elanna ordered hot, soothing tea for them both and sat back on the couch. A long moment later, Rylie sat beside her. The tea steamed in their hands.

"Do you know how you jumped time?"

"No. One moment I was in the middle of exercises, the next, I was in a small room." Rylie pursed her lips. "And it was on _Voyager._"

"What?! But you," B'Elanna shook her head, set her tea down. "You," A palm held up stalled her.

"It's blurry, but I remember well enough. I got here, saw the grey bulkheads, felt the ship's energy, then passed out. Next thing, I was being shoved off that transport with a bunch of people that I've come to know. Confused, scared, eager to make the most of the dream, I played at being a slave until I had a little knowledge, then I ran. The rest you know."

Thoughts were racing in the engineer's head. A traveler from Earth's past, who was highly sensitive to energy appeared in a small room on _Voyager_ right when the ship was raided, the crew abducted. Tachyon particles showed up in scans. Tachyon. She flashed back to the failed experiment she'd been working on with Vorik.

_"There's a buildup of tachyon particles. Why are there tachyon particles?" B'Elanna growled in frustration. Tachyons hadn't appeared in any of the holodeck scenarios. There was no precedent for it in their wormhole experiment. "What the hell is going on?"_

"It worked!" B'Elanna exclaimed. Rylie's eyes went wide. "Just not the way we intended." She got up and paced. "It was probably drawn to your energy signature when those tachyon particles interfered. I'd have to look over the data again. Most of it was corrupted, but maybe..."

Rylie as staring at her. "Vorik and I had been working on an experiment to open a wormhole to the Alpha Quadrant right before the slavers hit us. Apparently, it worked."

There was quiet. Rylie's face was smooth, her default expression, one that B'Elanna thought was probably honed to protect herself from her tormentors. It shattered like broken glass. "I'm glad it did."

"Me too. Why the name Seras?"

"Inga had a daughter named Seras." Rylie looked like she was warping a million lightyears away. "She died as an infant, from some genetic abnormality. Because of that, Inga was able to be my nanny, and I got to have someone better than a parent. It felt right to borrow her name."

B'Elanna nodded, appreciating the odd sentiment. "Will you use it again now that you remember?"

A sip of her cooled tea, and she nodded. "Yeah. I'd like to."

"Welcome back, Seras."


	15. Moving Forward

**Chapter 15**

_**Moving Forward**_

The crew was gathered in the messhall for a little celebration. The vast majority of repairs had been completed, supplies were at a comfortable level, and every deck had been gone over with a fine-band scanner. _Voyager_ no longer had any hull breaches, closed-off decks, nor unwanted guests. Everyone was back to sleeping in private quarters, even Seras. Good humor and laughter mingled with the scents of cookies and other luxuries that Neelix had whipped up for the occasion.

"Hi. I'm Naomi Wildman, Captain's Assistant." The smallest crewmember of _Voyager_ introduced herself without fear to the new crewmember in the messhall. Her hypothesis was that if perfectionist Seven and suspicious B'Elanna _agreed_ on trusting someone, then she had to be safe and trustworthy despite some of the lower-deck gossip. And she should have welcomed the passenger on board weeks ago, but between ship repairs, dodging unfriendly aliens, Seras being in sickbay, and Neelix's interference she had not gotten the chance.

"I'm Seras," a thoughtful breath, "Passenger." She smiled. Her eyes flicked up to Neelix hovering protectively.

"Neelix, she's not going to eat Naomi." B'Elanna grumbled at his intrusive presence.

Seven also made an effort to get him back to the kitchen. "Even if she wanted to, she would not purposely do something that would upset Lt. Torres."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Feeling her blood go hot, B'Elanna growled.

Icy blue settled on her. "Seras has shown herself to be deferential to your emotional needs."

B'Elanna stared at Seven.

"You know, she's right." Neelix hummed. "And I know you'd be upset if anything happened to my goddaughter." He did try to level an intimidating stare on Seras. "But, I'll have you know, Seven isn't the only one around here who knows how to protect her family." The stare evaporated as he smiled his usual good humor. "Well, I'd better get back to my kitchen."

Naomi smiled widely as her over-protective guardian gave them space. "I think it's nice that she's looking out for you, chief."

B'Elanna huffed, spoiling for a fight, but not quite directing her temper at Seras, who was too intrigued with the table. "I don't need people tip-toeing around my emotions."

"But isn't it nice to know when someone cares enough about you to pay attention and tries to be a positive influence on your happiness?" Naomi was quoting from a holo-vid she had watched with her mother. She really thought it was an appropriate moment to use the quote. According to her mother, it was very sweet, something like what her husband would say. She watched with great interest as B'Elanna and Seras' cheeks flushed with color.

An eyebrow lifted on Seven's face. She was also highly intrigued by the reactions to Naomi's comment. She was certain she had only seen the half-Klingon blush about or around Tom during the time when they were copulating. As far as ship-gossip knew, the only other person to have slept in B'Elanna's quarters for several months was Seras. It was much to think about.

* * *

Vorik leaned over the readouts. "No change."

B'Elanna threw her hands up. "Fine. That's enough frustration for the day."

"Indeed." He agreed.

"I'll do the report. You can go early if you want." B'Elanna wanted to kick the failed experiment. That wormhole to the Alpha Quadrant simply did not want to be replicated. It was beginning to seem like it was a one-time thing.

"Thank you, chief. Goodnight." He offered.

"See you later, Vorik." She bent to the report. The sooner she finished, the sooner she could get a drink.

* * *

Despite having quarters of their own, evenings were usually spent together in B'Elanna's, talking or reading or whatever came to mind. This particular one, they were enjoying a bottle of alcohol that Seras had convinced Neelix to trade at the planet they'd visited the day before. It was fruity and bitter and reminded B'Elanna of her days at Starfleet Academy.

"Ever heard of Vulcan pon-farr?"

Choking on her drink, B'Elanna felt her cheeks grow hot. "Yes. Why?"

Seras' brow had wrinkled, but she merely grinned. "I was reading about it this morning. Can you imagine a Vulcan losing his cool like that? A Vulcan in heat!" She laughed heartily.

"Y-yeah. It's a riot to see." B'Elanna tried to laugh with her.

"Wait, you've seen it happen? Tuvok?" Seras leaned forward eagerly, face alight with curiosity and mischief.

"Both Tuvok and Vorik have experienced it since we've been in the Delta Quadrant." B'Elanna sipped her coffee and returned her attention to her PADD, hoping Seras hadn't noticed the embarrassed flush.

A minute later, Seras' voice was subdued. "I said something wrong again, didn't I?"

B'Elanna looked up. "Not wrong, but impolite." She huffed, agitation making her response sharp and unfriendly. "I-I understand that it was really difficult for them. Pon-farr without a mate to help is..." A wish for patience was silently made. "Where did you even find information on it?"

Seras tapped at her own PADD and handed it over. The data was from a human journal, not official Starfleet records. It was a short entry, vaguely mentioning that Vulcan physiology forced them to mate every seven years. nothing about the dangers it presented. The author's tone was clearly humored by the logical species' obeisance to a primitive instinct. Groaning, B'Elanna remembered a time when she would have laughed along with that author and Seras.

"Vulcans don't like to talk about it or even share the medical information with other species. It's one of their most private," B'Elanna flailed for a description, "Things. You shouldn't read crap like that. It doesn't give the whole story." She dove back to her PADD to avoid discussing it further.

She was halfway through the next page when Seras' voice stole her attention again.

"I'm sorry." Seras was almost trembling, shame and embarrassment written on every centimeter of her. "It was low of me to make a joke over a species difference like that. I won't do it again."

B'Elanna's mouth fell open. She shut it, ready to make a response, but her tongue seemed glued to her teeth.

"Every day it feels like I make some stupid little mistake because I don't know all the unwritten rules that everyone else does. I don't know anything about this century or Starfleet or about the people who didn't grow up on Earth. It wasn't such a big deal in the beginning, what with everyone too busy with repairs." Voice rising, Seras' agitation was even evident in the sharp gestures of her hands. "I'm always saying things that have people looking at me like I'm a complete moron. Or I get those looks because I don't understand them!"

Seras stood and began pacing. "I never, _never_ want to go back to the hell I had as a life in my time, but, but I don't, I can't..."

The dramatic movements ended, but the intensity of Seras' emotion were yet vivid on her face. "I feel like an outsider who doesn't even have the courtesy of being useful."

A sudden realization came over B'Elanna. Seras wandering in and out of engineering, standing around, offering comments on energy fluxes, or asking questions, but always leaving abruptly. Constantly asking about reading material or holo-vids pertaining to _Voyager_ or Starfleet or the Alpha Quadrant. Pushing her body to try and regain its former powers. Spending untold hours in the messhall and corridors. Before the incident at the star, Seras had been involved in the daily repairs. She'd been useful as another set of hands and very helpful with her ability to infuse power into systems, acting as a bypass or portable generator.

With the ship back in working order and expertise needed to fine-tune the systems, Seras was never asked to help. Without her gift, she was not asked to accompany away teams. The woman was resourceful, intelligent, and eager to help, but her ignorance kept her from being part of the crew.

Even little Naomi helped out by … Naomi. "You could join Naomi in school! The head of every department is in charge of a part of her education. I don't see why we couldn't adjust our efforts to include you." She watched Seras' eyes widen. "And I can always use an extra pair of hands in Engineering. You're familiar enough with the systems and the way we do things that I'd be comfortable assigning you to duties with a supervisor. Hands-on training we'll call it. Of course, we'll have to get the captain's approval, but I doubt she'd disapprove."

Seras hadn't moved, and the look on her face was strange. Her silence unnerved B'Elanna, making her wonder if Seras didn't like her idea at all. "Or maybe you could work in another department. I'm sure Tuvok or Seven wou-"

"No!" Seras cried, one hand reaching out. A breath, and she drew herself back, lowered her voice. "No. I'd like to work in engineering.

"Are you sure?" B'Elanna questioned.

"Yeah. The engines fascinate me. You just surprised me, that's all." A quivering little smile appeared. Reassured, B'Elanna smiled back.

* * *

At the staff meeting, B'Elanna introduced her and Seras' request to have _Voyager_'s newest begin education and training.

"That's a great idea." Captain Janeway said thoughtfully. "And it brings up another thing. I think Seras could be useful in security as well. Tuvok, B'Elanna, you'll have to share. In fact, I want every head of department to begin rotations of crew through basic training in other fields. Having cross-department training is something I've been thinking about for a few weeks. This is a perfect time to begin."

The captain's features became a little darker, her tone harder. "We're pressed into difficult situations far too often. And half of the crew has worked in other departments for various reasons anyway. Doctor, this includes you. Tom is needed on the bridge too often to be your only assistant. I want at least three other crewmembers to begin medical training." Her gaze took in the entire senior staff. "Make your selections and assign them by the end of the week. Rotations will last ninety days."

Agreeing nods met her second survey of the staff. Seras' expression was stunned and thrilled, and Janeway enjoyed the warmth of making one of her crew happy. From the very beginning, it had felt like the young woman was meant to be part of the crew. Janeway laughed inside herself. It was highly unorthodox how she acquired new crewmembers, and she imagined that Starfleet would have a few words with her about it someday. Until then, she wondered how many more strangers she would come to see as part of her family.

* * *

"I can't believe none of us brought her here sooner!" Tom anguished as they stood in front of Holodeck Two. Harry and B'Elanna looked at Seras, then each other and shrugged. "It's ridiculous."

"You're remedying it now." Seras shrugged it off. "Don't get your panties in a twist over it."

While the others snickered at the joke, Tom grumbled about no respect anymore and told the computer to open up the beach resort. They had three hours to celebrate Seras' training to properly become part of the crew. Garbed in brightly colored beach outfits, they splashed in salty waves, chased seagulls, played sand volleyball, and built a sandcastle. B'Elanna couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so freely as she watched Tom and Seras bicker over a turret, then proceed to wrestle over a shovel that ended with the destruction of the castle.

A groan harmonized between them when the computer announced their time was up. The program ended, but the fun didn't. Seras snapped her wet towel at Tom, making him howl and chase her all the way to the messhall. Their abrupt arrival naturally drew the mess' attention and somehow everyone knew Seras had experienced the holodeck for the first time. Several of them, including Neelix, enthusiastically asked her about her first time. B'Elanna thought Seras was holding back a 'but' in all of her responses. Deciding to ask her about it later, she was caught up in the retelling of Harry being attacked by crabs.

"The holodeck is something you'd like to do again?" B'Elanna prodded.

"Yeah. It was a lot fun." Seras agreed, but she was surely holding something back.

"But?" B'Elanna asked.

Shrugging, Seras continued her attack on her reading. She was learning about how to interpret sensor readings about power fluctuations. Seras complained about it, because she could tell you all about power fluctuations with her eyes closed. There had been a full-out argument between them about Seras having to learn this. Eventually, B'Elanna had won by insisting that even Seras couldn't sense energy on another ship kilometers away and what if she was called on to give sensor analysis of this?

And now Seras was studying too hard on a subject she despised, avoiding giving B'Elanna a proper answer. Why couldn't she just tell her why the holodeck was lacking? It had poked at her curiosity enough that she'd even done a diagnostic on the system, checking for possible malfunctions, specifically in the energy relays...

"Your sixth sense kept telling you the whole thing was a charade, despite what your others senses felt." B'Elanna realized.

Seras finally looked up from the PADD. There was an apologetic and regretful nod from her. "Sorry. I know you really wanted to give me the planet-side experience I'd been complaining about missing."

Apologizing. The woman was apologizing for disappointing B'Elanna even though she was the one to have been disappointed. _"Seras has shown herself to be deferential to your emotional needs." _Seven's pointed comment came to mind. "You don't have to apologize for that! I'm the one who's sorry I didn't think about it sooner."


	16. Blending In

A/N - Dear anonymous reviewer demanding Dumb Luck to be updated: It will be when it's ready. That's all I will say on the subject. Please stop leaving reviews on this story for it.

For those enjoying this story, thank you for your continued support. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 16**

_**Blending In**_

The holodeck doors allowed Seras in. "Hey, Tom."

He gave her a mock frown. "We're on duty, Recruit Seras. You should address me with the proper formalities."

A light flush darkened her cheeks. "Sorry, um, sir."

Tom couldn't help it, he laughed and strode up, clapping her on the shoulder. "I'm kidding! Don't you dare start calling me sir."

Relief spread across her, the tension fleeing her frame. "Jerk. You totally had me."

"I did, didn't I?" Grinning widely, he congratulated himself on the joke well played. "By the way, you look good in uniform. You'd look better in red, but the yellow suits you, I suppose. Chakotay suggested it, right?"

Nodding, Seras brushed at the uniform. It was similar to Tom's, but it mirrored a cadet's uniform. The neutral colors were inverted, dark grey where his was black, and instead of light grey, a black undershirt. No command pips were on her collar. Not yet, Tom said to himself. Seras carried herself with too much assurance and confidence during emergencies to remain a simple crewman. Her mystery past and experiences that only B'Elanna and the captain seemed to know, they gave her an edge, like Seven had. Not to mention that being part of the senior staff meetings since her arrival had much of the crew deferring to her, even if she hadn't noticed it yet.

"I'm supposed to start you with the very basics of flight mechanics, but where's the fun in that?" Tom said lightly.

Lips curving into a smile, Seras responded. "No fun at all."

"Computer, begin program Paris Flight Training One."

* * *

"Seras." Tuvok greeted when she joined his squad for their morning routine. "Lieutenant Andrews will be your supervisor and guide you through your exercises."

Lieutenant Andrews, an almost iridescently pale human, greeted Seras and began taking her through stretches and introducing her to basic combat. The rest joined Tuvok in advanced sparring. At the end of the hour, Tuvok released his personnel and assigned to Seras what she referred to as 'homework'. She was to study the protocol manual, the forms Andrews had showed her, and _Voyager_'s security emergency procedures. They would meet again in two days for the weekly firearms training. The excitement she exuded caused Tuvok to subdue a crude thought about human tendencies.

* * *

Lieutenant Susan Nicoletti stonily congratulated Seras on completing a diagnostic. A broad shouldered human woman prone to cold attitudes and exacting Universal, she was unimpressed with having to babysit her chief's special project. In her opinion, Seras was far too immature and ignorant of starship mechanics to warrant such training. But Nicoletti would do as ordered. At least the sparky little pseudo-cadet followed orders. She had that going for her.

"Seras, now that you've discovered the source of the EPS problem, look up the proper repair for it. When you've done that, gather the necessary equipment and report to me." Nicoletti ordered.

She ignored Seras' huff and tapped in notes on the report that the chief wanted.

* * *

Giggling, Naomi shook her head. "Nope. Wrong again. You're really horrible at botany. Maybe we should go back to history. You're good at pronouncing all those jumpy alien names."

Seras dropped her face into her palms and groaned.

Ensign Samantha Wildman chuckled softly and stroked her daughter's hair. "Naomi's right. You have a knack for linguistics. Why don't you pick an alien language and try to study it?"

"What good is knowing another language when everyone has a universal translator that's practically magical?" Seras argued.

Samantha smiled, recognizing the petulant attitude as frustration. "Sometimes they don't work. And learning another language helps you learn that culture, gain a better understanding and appreciation of it. I speak Ktarian fluently. Learning it led me to meeting Naomi's father."

Seras offered her a pout. "I'll think about it."

"Come on, you two." Prodded Samantha. "Let's take a field trip to the airponics bay. Maybe seeing some of these plants will help."

Naomi jumped up, excited and all bright smiles. "Yay!"

Seras got up, obviously not excited. "Yay."

* * *

Dinner was a time that Seven had discovered was good for practicing social skills. She had come to find the company of the majority of the senior staff pleasurable and even occasionally other members of the crew. Today she was joining Seras for a meal. She had been looking forward to the woman's company all week. Though her tendency to behave similarly to Lt. Paris, the juvenile humor and enjoyment of fantastic stories, was exasperating, her lack of aversion to Seven's Borg past was always refreshing, as were her unique perspectives of life aboard _Voyager_.

"Hi, Seven." Coming from right beside her, Seras' voice was startling.

"Seras." Seven hid her discomfiture under a cool tone. The woman being in a uniform, even a dissimilar one, had camouflaged her among the rest of the crew. "I was unaware that you had been given a uniform."

Seras lifted her lips and showed her teeth with pleasure. "It was the commander's idea to help me integrate." Her expression became thoughtful. "Have you ever thought about wearing one?"

"Yes." Seven replied.

Fifteen seconds later, Seras' facial features showed annoyance. "You going to make me ask?"

Sometimes Seven didn't mean to be obtuse, but this time it had been calculated to provoke such a reaction. She had learned from studying social interactions among friends that this sort of behavior, called teasing, was common and often fostered bonding moments through the intended humor and display of intimate familiarity. "If you want to know why, yes."

Vexation thoroughly creased her features. Yet, six seconds later, the expression changed. Her eyes narrowed, followed by lips curving up. Seven struggled not to mirror the engaging smile, and she felt her facial muscles twitch.

A laugh came out. "Stop messing with me and tell me why you don't wear a uniform."

Allowing a superior smile to grow, Seven replied. "Perhaps another time." She turned to request her nutritional supplement from the replicator.

There was a growling sigh from Seras, and she went to retrieve a meal from Neelix. Picking up her supplement from the replicator, Seven heard a crewman whisper to Seras. "How the hell do you get the Ice Queen to smile?"

"The same way I get anyone else to. I smile at them." Seras laughed.

"Come on, tell me the truth. She smiles about as often as a Vulcan. Are you blackmailing her to win the pool?" The crewman persisted.

Hand clenched tightly around her tray, Seven schooled her features to impassive. She knew about the pool, but thought it had been decommissioned.

"What pool?" Seras asked.

"To get her to admit to being human."

Seras' upper lip curled and her chin lifted. "That's fucking stupid. Why is being labeled human so important? Is Tuvok less of a person because he's not? Or B'Elanna? Seven is a decent person whether she calls herself human or Borg or a fucking cupcake. Grow up."

They proceeded to glare heatedly at each other. It appeared as though the exchange might escalate beyond verbal interaction, but Neelix stepped in with a smile and cheerily offered a menu selection. Appetite lost, Seven took a seat and stirred her spoon in her soup-like meal.

Disgusted at what he had overheard, Harry made a note to speak to the commander about the nonsense that the lower decks was continuing. He carried his own tray to the table where Seven was and paused half a meter away. "Mind if I join you?"

A cool, aloof expression turned to him. "You may."

He sat, swallowed his hesitance, and spoke. "I'm sure you heard that even from here, right?"

Stiff, Seven felt a slight spasm in her jaw as it shifted. "I did."

"I'm sorry about that. It's not right."

"Why are you apologizing? Unless you are participating in the pool, you-" Harry cut her off. "Of course I'm not! But I feel like someone should, because that kind of behavior is ignorant and cruel. I'm going to talk to Chakotay about it later."

"You heard that idiot?" Gaze on Harry, Seras dropped to the chair opposite Seven.

"Yes." Both of them responded. Her regard flicked to Seven. "I meant what I told him."

Seven lowered her eyes to her meal. Some of the tension faded. "Thank you."

"I wish B'Elanna had been there." Seras huffed.

Curious, Harry asked, "Why?"

Thrusting a murderous glare to the crewman shuffling to the far end of the mess hall, she growled. "Because she would've broken his nose!"

He couldn't help it, he chuckled and agreed. "She probably would've. We can always ask her to do it later."

Seven looked up sharply, alarmed and confused. While Seras giggled, she berated Harry. "Ensign, that would be inappropriate."

"True. But that guy has it coming." Harry shrugged much like his best pal would. In his book, anyone mistreating Seven deserved a little humiliation along with their punishment.

"If I hear him talking like that again, I'll use him as a target for my electric shocks," was muttered by Seras.

Harry chuckled again. "You're starting to sound like B'Elanna. Her Klingon side must be rubbing off on you."

The avid gaze she fixed on him stopped his chuckles. "People are always mentioning her Klingon-ness. What is it about Klingons that everyone is all obsessed over?"

"They are a highly aggressive species. Their culture, language, and physiology revolves around their propensity for violence and copulation. Even though she is half human, her Klingon genes are dominant. She has inherited the aggressive behaviors, superior strength, and physical resilience." Seven explained.

Harry nodded. "Starfleet was at war with them for a time. Klingons are pretty frightening people. There's only been a couple of them who've joined Starfleet since the treaties were signed."

Seras thrust a PADD at him. "Show me how to access data on them."

* * *

Some days later, it worked out that B'Elanna was taking lunch with Ensign Wildman.

"She's been looking into Klingon culture?" B'Elanna glanced up, feeling particularly curious about that.

"And Vulcan and Betazed and Ktarian..." Samantha gestured that the list was extensive. "She's very curious about the species represented on _Voyager_ and in the rest of Starfleet. Don't even get me started on her ability to pick up the respective languages. Seras is extremely gifted in linguistics."

B'Elanna gaped. "Really?"

Samantha nodded enthusiastically. "I found out by accident that she was fluent in nine Earth languages before she came to _Voyager_."

"You're kidding. I only speak Universal and a handful of Klingon that mother managed to shove down my throat." A stroke of jealousy bit at her and not because she wasn't multilingual. Little personal tidbits like this were special things that Seras shared with _her_ first. Samantha canted her head, picking up on the sharp tone. The gentle expression she gave B'Elanna unnerved her. It was like the young mother could see right to her jumpy inner thoughts.

"I happened to be in the room when she told Naomi. Apparently, the two of them had struck up a competition to make studying more fun. Every time one of them won, they got to ask a personal question." The explanation calmed the irritating jealousy a little bit. And that fanned her anger. There was nothing to be jealous _about!_ "It was Naomi's idea." Samantha laughed. "My little diplomat."

B'Elanna shoved a large forkful of vegetables into her mouth, and chomped irritably.

"She's a lot like her father, even though she's never met him." Regret and old sadness replaced the joy in her tone. "I sometimes wonder if..." She sighed, and B'Elanna swallowed hastily.

But Samantha only shook her head. "Sorry. I know it's not good to dwell on what ifs. Naomi is healthy and happy. She has a wonderful life on _Voyager_, even if our home needs lots of frequent repairs. The captain will get us back to the Alpha Quadrant someday and that's enough for me."

The Alpha Quadrant. Memories of her Klingon mother assaulted B'Elanna. She cringed at what an awful, rebellious daughter she had been. She'd hated herself so much that she refused to accept her Klingon heritage which included her mother. Until recently, until _Voyager_. Being part Klingon was still a battle at times, but being accepted and praised and respected for simply being B'Elanna Torres had quelled much. Tom's love had smoothed out some more of her rough edges. And now Seras, who...

Samantha was waving a hand in front of her face.

"I didn't want to interrupt your thoughts, but I thought it would be more rude to leave without saying something." Apologetic, Samantha had risen. She looked at the messhall chronometer. "My break is over."

"Mm." B'Elanna covered her discomfiture with a smile. "Thanks for the conversation."

"See you around, lieutenant."

Getting up as well, B'Elanna returned her tray and made her way to her own department. Her thoughts about her mother quickly returned. In Engineering, she checked on her staff, then went to her favorite station and opened up the database on Klingon culture and language. She downloaded some material to a PADD before her conscience would let her thoughts turn to her job.

* * *

The next week, they took dinner in Seras' place. B'Elanna was helping her study warp mechanics while testing an experimental dampening field generator. It was a tiny little thing based on the Yeern's technology, designed for personal use on dangerous away missions. Seras pulled away from her PADD to ask what it would do. Switching it on and watching the readouts on the tricorder she had prepped on the table, B'Elanna replied. "I have it set to block all electromagnetic signals."

The tricorder was reporting that the field was working perfectly. It was even blocking her communicator signal. B'Elanna felt a wave of embarrassment. That meant the universal translator would be useless and she should probably warn Seras that...

"Sounds like it could be useful." Seras replied in accented Universal.

B'Elanna gaped. "When did you learn Universal?!"

"From the day I met Tom," was shrugged. "Did you know that Universal is based on English? It was my first language. It hasn't really changed much in four hundred years. At least, not the basic structure and pronunciation. Some of the words are obviously new, and the popular phrases, and..."

It was easy to forget that Seras was from another time. The woman blended into the crew like she'd grown up in a Starfleet colony. B'Elanna listened to her go on about the mechanics of various languages she had studied, finding a smile taking room in her heart until she started laughing softly. Seras stopped her monologue, frowning.

"What?"

"Sometimes, when I have to teach you rudimentary starship mechanics that any first year cadet would know, I forget how smart you really are." B'Elanna told her and memorized the flush that traveled up Seras' neck. "Ensign Wildman told me how she overheard you telling Naomi that you speak nine languages. I think that's impressive."

Running her palm along an arm, Seras glanced away. "Twelve."

"What?"

"I spoke nine then-modern languages. I also spoke Latin and a fictional language from a popular movie I really liked. Now that I speak Universal, that makes twelve." She explained.

Awed, mouth slightly agape, B'Elanna stared at her.

"Well, Universal does count as a new language. Even though it's based on English, it's about as far from what I grew up with as, as, well, you wouldn't get the reference. But, there was a lot I had to learn!" Staunchly, she defended an argument she thought she had seen in B'Elanna. "And I'm studying some alien ones now too. Did you know that Vulcan script looks like human musical scores?"

"If you'd come forward only one generation previously, you would have been put to work as a ship's translator immediately." B'Elanna said. She saw doubt flicker across Seras, probably rooted in her fear of being useless on _Voyager_. "But, I'm glad you came here. I can't imagine _Voyager_ without you anymore."

In fact, she started to imagine exactly that and discovered that she detested the thought of Seras not being in her life. Her heart twisted in her chest.


	17. A Good Chance

A/N - We're almost there! Just a handful of chapters left :D

* * *

**Chapter 17**

_**A Good Chance**_

Approaching an unoccupied sector of space, _Voyager_ was looking for interesting stuff to explore or avoid. It had actually been a few weeks of quiet aboard the ship, and the crew was getting a little antsy. Harry eagerly went over the report that Seven had sent from astrometrics. "Here's something, captain."

"Yes, ensign?" The captain was not immune to cabin fever either. She was edgy and wanted to do something more than sit around, and it was very obvious to everyone on the bridge.

"Scans show deposits of deuterium on a moon in the outer rim."

Keeping a laugh to himself, Chakotay leaned in, giving a practical excuse to the excuse to explore. "This is a good chance to stockpile."

"Given our last few months of unlucky encounters, I'm going to agree." The captain sighed at that thought. She peered around at the expectant faces, and a grin reappeared. "Mr. Paris, lay in a course."

"Aye, captain." His fingers flew.

* * *

At the meeting to discuss an away mission, Harry was detailing the moon. Deuterium was located in enough accessible quantity to justify the dangerous trip. "In the temperate zone, the temperatures range from negative eighty to plus sixty-five Celsius. The air mix is mostly sulfur dioxide, hydrogen dioxide, and helium from high volcanic activity. And lightning storms cover a third of the surface at any given time. We'll have about a twenty minute window every couple of hours. Once the away team is down, they'll have to make do for those couple of hours."

"Sounds like we'll need temporary shelters down there. Maybe a temporary facility," hummed Chakotay.

"And good lightning rods." Tom snorted.

"And me." Seras said.

The room looked at her, and the captain opened her mouth. Seras jumped to speak. "I know that my abilities aren't what they used to be, but a direct lightning strike to me still can't kill me like it can you. Tuvok knows that I do fine in a pressure suit. Don't forget that my ability to sense energy is as good as ever. I might save lives," was her effective closing line.

"Point made. You go." Janeway did not give room for arguments, though she saw them brewing on B'Elanna and Chakotay's faces. The danger was real. Seras' usefulness was proven. She deserved a chance to show off her weeks worth of training, not to mention that Janeway wanted to see how _Voyager's_ newest would perform.

* * *

On the exotic surface, Chakotay oversaw the erection of the multiple-building temporary shelter. One of the crew was standing aside, watching the approaching lightning storm. Seras' voice came over the comm. "I don't think we've got that two-hour window Harry said we did, commander."

Chakotay checked his tricorder. The storm was moving faster than anticipated. Only one section of the compound was up, but it would have to be enough. "Forget the other buildings for now. Get those lightning rods in place!"

Seras was working on the same rod the commander was when she stopped in the middle of tightening a bolt and yelled at everyone to get inside. As one, the team paused and looked to their commander. Not bothering to question her, Chakotay repeated the order in his trained command voice. Everyone hustled. One last crewman was running to the shelter from the farthest rod, and Chakotay turned to find Seras. She had a hand raised.

He blinked, and a bolt of lightning literally curved away from the crewman, exploding into the ground, sending rock flying. Her legs folded under her. Over the comm, he could hear her panting raggedly. He ran, threw her arm around his shoulders and dashed inside. Past the airlock, he helped her out of her helmet while the medical crewman scanned her. "Her neurons are firing erratically, and her nervous system is strained." A frown. "That's all I can interpret from the readings, sir."

Waving a hand, Seras huffed. "I'm fine. Just gotta catch my breath."

She was pale and sweating. Not fine at all, but there wasn't much to do, and he wasn't going to berate her, given that she'd just saved a life. "You do that, crewman." He pat her shoulder and surveyed the haphazard collection of crates and crew in the cramped room. "Alright, people, let's make the most of our time indoors."

* * *

"Communications with the away team have been cut off by the storm." The junior officer covering Harry's station informed the bridge.

"They were supposed to have another hour." Worried about his best friend, Tom complained.

"I'm sure that Seras got them indoors with plenty of time to spare." Janeway responded, hoping her words were true. Even from space, the storms were impressive, massive things spewing lightning like a Vulcan could logic. They were implacable and without mercy.

* * *

B'Elanna stirred her dinner without appetite. Across from her, Tom noticed and poked her with a vegetable. "Want to go to the holodeck after dinner?"

She looked up into his familiar blue eyes, soft with concern for her and their friends on the away mission. Going back to her quarters meant a quiet night with a novel or music or working on the schematics for the cloaking device she was trying to recreate or agonizing over the wormhole experiment that refused work. Without Seras there for company and occasional insights, she'd go stir crazy. "Yes. Anything."

"Great. How about skydiving?" Adrenaline. His second favorite distraction after piloting, and her first. She loved the idea.

* * *

"Um, captain?" The junior officer's voice was hesitant.

"Yes?"

"There's something on sensors that..." he trailed off.

Immediately on alert, Janeway ordered, "Onscreen." The moon below filled the viewscreen, its turbulent atmosphere sparked here and there by storms. In the corner, there was a haze, a wavering that didn't match. "Magnify."

The haze was zoomed in on. Magnified, the haze was a ripple in space. Suddenly, it came into ultra-clear focus, and Janeway cursed. Only the strangeness on the screen kept Tom from commenting on the captain's unprofessional language.

"Open a channel!" Janeway barked.

"Channel open," was the meek reply.

"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Fede-"

"Federation." Sneered a Klingon male as his image blinked on the viewscreen. "You are violating our territory."

Janeway thought fast. "We apologize. We did not know this area was claimed. But, please, can-"

"You will leave immediately, or we will destroy you." He waved dismissively. The viewscreen went blank. When it returned to the view of the moon, the ship had vanished as well.

"Report," was chewed out.

"The Klingon ship is gone from sensors."

Janeway inwardly cursed about Klingons. "Can we contact the away team yet?"

"No, captain."

"How long?" She inquired.

The officer had concern and fear written across him. "Ma'am, the away team is gone. So is all of the equipment."

* * *

"You know." Tom thought out loud. "There's all sorts of strange things we expect to find in the Delta Quadrant. Uncharted nebulas, time travelers, various alien species who want to kill us or take our stuff, time-bending subspace anomalies, the list goes on."

The others around the briefing room table for the emergency meeting waited for him to finish.

"But this," he waved at the screen on which was displayed the strange thing in question. "Klingon warship just wasn't on that list. Not that I should have ruled it out. We have met Ferengi and humans and..."

"Mr. Paris." The captain almost groaned, stopping his word vomit.

"Captain, a Klingon Bird of Prey just uncloaked, abducted the away team, and vanished! I'm entitled to a little babbling." He complained.

Janeway pinched the bridge of her nose. Thankfully, Tuvok took up the conversation. "Its ion trail leads to this planet." An M-class planet in a nearby system displayed. "There are several thousand life-signs. All Klingon."

"Do we have any idea of how or why they're here?" The captain asked.

"None, captain."

Not expecting more, Janeway nodded. "Then we'll go in, ready for anything, though I hope it's only friendly negotiations."

B'Elanna snorted.

"Something to add?"

"I just don't see how you can put Klingons and friendly negotiations in the same sentence, that's all." Sarcasm dripping, B'Elanna responded.

* * *

In a high orbit of the planet, the captain ordered hails directed to the Bird of Prey they had followed there.

"I am Merzan, son of Ker'tah of the House of Anagg." Sneering at them, a robust Klingon male possibly related to the first, appeared on the screen. "What do you want?"

Janeway sighed at his belligerence and did her best to remain cordial. She calmly returned the greeting and went on. "I am looking for my missing crew. The ship that t-"

"I am not concerned with your missing crew, Federation." Merzan grunted.

She swallowed the urge to spit at him. "I'd like to negotiate the return of my crew. If we had known that moon was claimed, we would not have attempted to harvest materials without permission."

"Leave or we will destroy you." Just as rudely as the other, the Klingon cut off communication.

"Is there an echo around here?" Tom huffed.

"Keep hailing the planet." Janeway ordered. "Someone with honor will talk to us."

"Aye, capt-there's an incoming hail."

Shocked, Janeway jumped. "Onscreen."

Yet another Klingon male peered at Janeway through narrowed eyes. This one, however, greeted her with a measure of respect. "Greetings, Federation. I am Kaarvkor, son of Torm, governor of this planet."

The captain returned the greeting and was allowed to explain the dilemma.

"Hmm." Kaarvkor stroked the untamed end of one side of his braided moustache. "Merzan. You have quite a problem on your hands, captain."

Janeway pushed for more. "Please, explain."

"Merzan will have taken your crew as slaves, and he is within his rights to do so. Your crew was stealing deuterium from a moon under the control of his house." He mused while Janeway inwardly fumed. "Getting them back, as I'm sure you will attempt, will be difficult. He does not like to negotiate. He likes the Federation even less."

"Do you have any suggestions?"

The mustache was fingered. "Perhaps we can discuss this over a bottle of bloodwine. I admit curiosity about a Federation ship here in the Delta Quadrant, and especially about a Klingon who would travel on it."

"You scanned our vessel." Janeway stated.

"Of course." He rumbled. "Tell me, what position does he serve?"

"She," Janeway stressed the feminine. "Is my chief engineer."

Kaarvkor grinned. "A female? Perhaps she can find a way to negotiate with Merzan." His laugh was full of lecherous implications.

* * *

Unwilling to concede to the plan that Captain Janeway was trying to sell her on, B'Elanna threw her hands out in a tense, half-gripped motion. "Why is dressing me up like a Klingon a good idea?"

"Klingons are more likely to negotiate with a member of their own species." Tuvok pointed out.

"They're just as likely to kill each other and even more likely to kill a liar. I'm not doing it. There's got to be another way."

Tuvok and the captain exchanged looks. Both were out of ideas to convince the stubborn half-Klingon of undergoing minor external surgery to look like a full-blooded Klingon. The Delta Quadrant inhabitants' sensors had not detected her human DNA, and B'Elanna's normal behavior would be enough to fool them into treating her as an equal. But B'Elanna had given a good argument. All it would take would be a little red blood appearing to blow her cover. Klingons bled purple.

"Lt. Torres, this falsehood could be the fastest way to save Seras from enslavement." Seven spoke into the silence.

Arguments made worthless by that statement, B'Elanna was left to her only defense. She glared at Seven, who arched an eyebrow back. "Fine." B'Elanna fumed. "But I'm not wearing one of those worthless outfits that expose my breasts."

* * *

Proud of himself, the Doctor went over B'Elanna's modifications. "I gently encouraged her Klingon DNA to assert itself more. Then I used tissue samples to create," he frowned at the captain's diverted attention. She was watched B'Elanna while she examined her appearance in a mirror.

Janeway noticed his quiet. "You did a fine job, Doctor."

"Yes. I did. She'll even bleed purple blood." He grumbled.

B'Elanna touched the unfamiliar cranial ridges atop a thicker cranium that extended even farther into her hairline, almost to the crown of her skull. Her fingers traveled over every deep indentation and fold that framed her enormous forehead. It wasn't just makeup, it was her own flesh! Intrigued and annoyed and disturbed, she took note of every other change. The hue of her skin almost matched Tuvok. Her eyebrows and hair seemed like hairy beasts about to escape her head, and her teeth felt like they took up every extra micron in her mouth, their sharp points dragging along the insides of her lips. Under the medical gown, she touched the ridges that extended along her spine. Even her sense of smell seemed enhanced.

"This better work," was all she could muster. She was impressed by the Doctor's thoroughness, yet she hated the outward manifestation of her unwanted heritage.

* * *

Almost fidgeting in her dress uniform, Janeway waited in the transporter room for Kaarvkor and his retinue. She wished for the calming presence of her first officer, his second opinions and insights. Shimmering blue preceded the five Klingons, all dressed in fine armor and robes, armed with traditional knives only. One was carrying a wooden case of something. Janeway hoped it was only bloodwine. Noticing her study of them, Kaarvkor lifted his chin.

"Welcome to _Voyager_." Janeway greeted. "This is Lieutenant-commander Tuvok, my chief of security."

Nods were exchanged. The other Klingons were introduced, high ranking officials of their planetary government.

"You have your guards well-armed." Kaarvkor indicated the pair of security officers who had phasers on their hips.

Janeway nodded. "Given the circumstances of our meeting, I hope you don't mind."

The lead Klingon grinned. "I would have done the same. But where is your chief of engineering? I had hoped to meet her here."

She was supposed to be here, Janeway grumbled silently. Out loud, "She is waiting in the messhall, where we can get to know each other."

"Good! I took the liberty of bringing bloodwine to ease the conversation." Kaarvkor stepped off the platform and Janeway led the party through the corridors, exchanging pleasantries, doing the dance of diplomacy. Approaching the doors to the messhall, Janeway swore that if B'Elanna wasn't in there, she was going to make her eat leola root for a month.

Once again, Neelix had outdone himself in preparing the messhall for receiving important guests. The scent of several Klingon dishes wafted across Janeway's nose. She thanked whatever powers there were that _gagh_ wasn't among them. Those wriggling worms weren't a meal she ever wanted to vomit back up again ever.

"Captain." Though Janeway was expecting it, B'Elanna's altered appearance struck her like a slap. Her Starfleet dress uniform was adulterated with an armored vest, belt and knife, and tall boots that also gleamed with armor. Imposing didn't even begin to describe her.

"This is Lieutenant-commander B'Elanna, chief of engineering." Janeway felt strange not using Torres, but it was far too human of a name.

There was murmuring from the Klingon delegation. Kaarvkor spoke with a smile. "_qaleghneS._"

B'Elanna cleared her throat. _"Nuq'nuh._ My captain is not fluent in Klingonese, and this is her ship. Speak her language."

Where the captain expected the Klingons to be insulted, they seemed pleased by her assertiveness and broke out the bloodwine. They asked for news of the Alpha Quadrant, couldn't believe that the war had only lasted a handful of years, and explained that two generations ago, a group of Klingons had decided to make a claim in the Delta Quadrant. A freak wormhole had pushed them lightyears farther than they intended, but right in the very resource-rich system they had settled. Before their hopes could be lifted, Kaarvkor explained that the wormhole had collapsed on itself the nanosecond it spit the ships out.

If it wasn't for the missing crew, it would have been a very pleasant evening. The Klingons were not the hit first and ask questions later stereotype. Instead, they possessed minds curious about politics, science, and _Voyager's _journey. Mostly. When B'Elanna loudly refused to flirt with the youngest and relatively attractive Klingon male, the delegation split apart and mingled with the gathered senior staff. The young male zeroed in on Seven, which had Janeway sighing and hoping that Seven didn't hurt him physically. Only Kaarvkor remained in deep discussion with B'Elanna.

Some glasses of bloodwine later, Janeway found Kaarvkor in front of her. With Neelix's help, she found herself learning a great deal about the man's powerful family and history. They were laughing loudly over a story when Kaarvkor apologized and stepped aside to take a comm-call from the planet. Janeway turned to Neelix to thank him for his hard work preparing the delicacies that everyone was pleased by.

A great looming cloud of a Klingon stomped up to them, breaking the mood and throwing up everyone's guard. "One of your crew has transported to the surface. What is the meaning of this?" The governor hissed.

"I assure you that-" Janeway started, but Tuvok interrupted. "Captain, the bridge just informed me that it was B'Elanna."

"B'Elanna?"

"What kind of ship are you running, captain?" Kaarvkor threatened.

"Weren't you just telling us about the time you disobeyed your commanding officer to chase after your wife?" Neelix interjected slyly.

The captain and governor turned to him. Janeway's mind was thundering about her hot-headed engineer.

Suspicious, Kaarvkor canted his head. "What are you implying?"

"Oh, just that sometimes we do crazy things for family." The cook shrugged genially.

"Indeed we do. If it was my wife trapped in a cage, I would not be able to sit still until she was freed." He nodded.

"Very honorable behavior." Neelix nodded.

A swell of gratitude for Neelix's ingenuity filled Janeway as she watched Kaarvkor nod back. She began to formulate a strategy in her head. Chakotay would be the logical choice for-

"This Seras of her's must be an extraordinary human to attract her." Kaarvkor mused.

Seras? Janeway's thoughts crashed.

"Very much so. Seras is quite the hero," smoothly, Neelix continued. "She saved the entire ship from a similar predicament."

"Really?" Intrigue didn't quite cover doubt. Kaarvkor leaned close. "This begins to sound like the stories I tell my sons before bed at night."

Neelix laughed. "I assure you, this is the best kind of story. It's true."

"Anything else would not end well for you," warned the governor.

Janeway had come up with a plan. She needed to warn B'Elanna of the outrageous story Neelix was spinning. And she had to prepare for her return. Privacy to warn the engineer would be better, but she couldn't know if the Klingons were monitoring their communications, so she slapped her combadge in full sight of her guests. "Janeway to B'Elanna."

"I'm not going to let them rot down here, captain." B'Elanna immediately argued.

Her tone said that it would take being stuffed in the brig to keep her from doing what she was breaking the rules for. Taking a breath and gathering the bits of Klingonese she remembered, Janeway growled. "Lieutenant, if Seras was not your _be'nal_, I would beam you directly to the brig. If you don't both come back alive, I will demote you to ensign!"

Her heart thumped in her throat four beats before B'Elanna responded. At least the woman wasn't foolish enough to go down without a combadge. "I would rather die than leave my _be'nal _in the hands of another."

Kaarvkor rumbled approvingly, though he turned his keen gaze back to Neelix. "Tell me more about this Seras."

* * *

**translations:**

_gagh – _Worm dish traditionally eaten alive. Foul taste.

_qaleghneS – _I am honored to see you.

_Nuq'nuh – _Traditional greeting. Hello.

_be'nal_ – Wife.


	18. par'Mach'kai

A/N - Writing Klingons is fun :D They're so blunt and dangerous.

* * *

**Chapter 18**

_**par'Mach'kai**_

"_be'nal._" B'Elanna breathed to herself. "Seras, my wife? What the hell kind of story did the captain tell them?" Ahead, she saw guards bent over a game. Fingering her knife, she took a step forward, but a memory like a ghostly hand wrapping around her wrist stalled her.

_ There were only two of them. Up there in the height of the hills, nothing worked. She could easily take both out, steal their weapons and armor and sneak down. It would make her life much easier. Quietly, she stood and began to slink forward. A crunching footstep behind her and a hand on her wrist stopped her. Lips pulled back, she whipped her head back to snarl at the stranger._

_ "Let me go, or I'll rip your arms off."_

_ The stranger swallowed and let go. B'Elanna moved forward again, but that hand was on her wrist once more. "Wait."_

_ The half-Klingon moved to break the hold and silence the stranger._

_ "If you kill them, their friends will notice, and whatever you're planning won't work," was spit out quickly._

The similarity of the situation was undeniable. She needed a better plan to find Seras other than 'hit it until it submits'. Watching the guards mutter and laugh, B'Elanna considered what Seras would do. There weren't any useful mountains of rock nearby, only walls and climbing plants.

"Who are you?" Both guards were up, their hands on their knife hilts.

Exactly how she'd originally taught Seras how to pronounce her name exploded from her along with her lineage and rank.

"What do you want?"

"Seras," home safe. She blinked, having intended to say 'my crewmates'.

The guards were thrown off by the name. "Who is that?"

B'Elanna threw fate to the winds and went with the story that Janeway had concocted. Showing her teeth, she roared, "She is one of the caged humans and my _be'nal. _You will take me to her!"

"A weak human is your _be'nal_? I do not believe it. What does a creature like that have to offer a Klingon female like yourself?" The guard sneered.

"_yljatlhQo_'!" She hissed. "She is the strongest woman I've ever met and has more honor than you will ever know. Take me to her, or I will cut your heart out."

"Bah! I will take you to Merzan. He can deal with you." He growled, turned about and waved to be followed. Not quite believing her luck, B'Elanna strode after him through corridors and doors until they were in a great chamber. She could see Seras, her shipmates, and others being kept in cages. They eyed her and the guard with distrust. No one recognized her.

"Seras." B'Elanna said as she stopped in front of the cage. She whispered, "I'm going to get you out of here."

Seras narrowed her eyes.

Louder, for the benefit of the Klingon, "I came for you, _bangwI_'."

Surprise registered in Seras' expression.

"Who is this, Temro?" Another voice behind B'Elanna questioned.

"This female claims to be mated to one of those humans." The guard reported. "She wants her released."

Around her, eyes widened and stared at B'Elanna, confusion and curiosity warring in all of them. Seras looked like she was struggling to hold back laughter. Recognition eluded Chakotay and Harry still. She suppressed a sigh and snapped her sights to the guard. "Release them."

"No. These Federation _ghuy'cha_ are our prisoners. They will serve us as slaves." He sneered.

"You dare to keep us apart?" Advancing on him, she fingered her dagger.

The large, well-muscled male he had reported to emerged from around a bend in the room. Several other warriors followed. "I am Merzan, son of Ker'tah of the House of Anagg. Who are you?"

B'Elanna gathered every bit of swagger she had and announced herself. "I am B'Elanna, daughter of Miral, chief engineer of the Federation starship _Voyager_. I've come for my _be'nal _and shipmates."

Excited mutters sounded through the cage.

"A Klingon warrior who claims a human female as her _be'nal._ Lost on a ship of humans in a distant quadrant of space. This human must be hiding something or you are as lost as your ship. Despite your poor taste in a mate, to come for her shows honor. To come alone shows bravery." He chuckled rudely. "Or great stupidity."

B'Elanna swallowed anger and fear alike. She needed a cool head to think, to make her case inarguable. "I would brave any odds to be at her side. She is not just my _be'nal_, she is my _par'Mach'kai_."

He moved close to the cage. "Which one do you claim?"

Preempting B'Elanna's response, Seras stepped forward. "Me."

Snorting, he looked down at Seras, who was chewing invisible marbles. "What makes you so special, human? Can you fight like a demon? Make her scream in bed?"

"Yes, you piece of _baktag._" Seras lifted her chin, wrinkled her nose, and bared her teeth with as much disdainful attitude as Merzan. It made B'Elanna smile in pride and itch to know what other impressive Klingon insults she knew.

"Haaaah!" He snarled and started laughing. "Perhaps there is some truth here after all! Release her, and I will see how she fights. If she can beat me, you may take her with you."

Worry assaulted B'Elanna fiercely enough to steal her breath. Seras had barely begun learning the basics of hand to hand combat. She probably knew nothing of _bat'leth_ or Klingon fighting. The guard opened the cage, allowing Seras to step out and offered her a _bat'leth._ Its sweeping blades and three hand guards showed much use. Gingerly, Seras accepted it, gripping it wrong and frowning.

The leader snorted. "She does not even know what she is holding. What kind of demon could she be?"

Seras gave B'Elanna a little smile, then tossed aside the blades. Her stance eased into an almost lazy slouch as she ignored the Klingons' roars of outrage at the mistreatment of the weapon. "A demon who loves the sunlight."

Around her, the air shimmered. Merzan ran at her. Light erupted from the human, blinding him, and she dodged his swing.

"What was that?" He demanded.

Snapping and popping, sparks danced along Seras' arms. "I will beat you." She flicked a hand and little snaps raced at Merzan. He roared and jumped away. "Clever tricks from your ship. Increase power to the dampening field."

B'Elanna didn't notice a change, but Seras glanced around and nodded, a satisfied look on her. The sparks disappeared.

"Now you die." Merzan charged.

Another blinding flash, this one stronger than before stalled him.

"Argh! Not possible!" Sight damaged, his next swing was wild, easily dodged. Seras danced around and slapped him on the butt. In punishment, the _bat'leth_ caught her chin, sending blood flying.

"Shit!" She barely dodged his continued attacks, even though he kept his eyes shut.

B'Elanna muttered, "Come on, Seras. Don't die. Please, God, don't let her die."

In their cage, their shipmates yelled encouragement. Seras found a moment to breathe as her sounds were covered by the extra noise. Not a second of it was wasted. The guard ran behind her and started shouting that she was in front of him. Snarling, she whipped around and a bolt of electricity shot out of the sky into him. To her knees, she dropped, the _bat'leth_ swinging through air her skull had occupied. Panting and sweating hard, she rolled and came to her feet, one hand pointed at Merzan, who was already beside her.

His _bat'leth_ missed its mark, but her energy bolt did not. Merzan flew off his feet and slammed into the stone wall. His head cracked against it, and his breath puffed out. Seras puddled to the ground.

B'Elanna ran to Seras and gathered her in her arms. "Seras!" Gently, she brushed the sweat-damp hair from Seras' pained face. A trail of blood led from her nose and mixed on her chin.

"This is a new look for you." Seras reached up and winced, but traced the augmented skull ridges. Tingles were left in the wake. Her eyes flicked to Merzan, who was starting to move. B'Elanna growled and let go. "I'm going to kill him."

A hand caught her wrist as Merzan's eyes found them. He rolled over. Trembling, Seras used B'Elanna to leverage herself up. "No. Stay here. I think I understand this."

"Seras!"

"I've got this." Her certainty stilled B'Elanna, and her next words kept her from interfering. "B'Elanna, this fight is mine. You can't fight it for me, even though you'd do a much better job. They'll just call us dishonorable and use it as an excuse to enslave or kill us."

Merzan was getting to his knees. Seras stumbled to where his _bat'leth_ had landed. He got to his feet and swayed. She grabbed the handle and refused to fall over. They met at arms length. "_jey_ _yIyoH_!," was ground out in another good impression of Klingon arrogance. Sparks leapt about the length of the blade she pointed at his throat. Even an amateur like her couldn't miss at that distance.

Several breaths went by. He spat out a mouthful of blood and began laughing heartily. "Your word is honorable, B'Elanna! Such a mate you have found. I am defeated by a true demon!"

Seras snapped at him, "Release my friends."

His laughter died. "You are barely standing on your feet, demon. I will honor the bargain and allow you to return with your mate, but I will not give up my new slaves!"

Fresh sparks bloomed and arced the distance to snap at Merzan's face. He cringed and snarled at her. The Klingons around them began to shift.

"No one deserves to be a slave!" Seras cried out. Arcs of energy lanced out, and she swung, catching a gouge in Merzan's temple. Hair and beard smoking, Merzan danced around her until she tripped over herself and fell.

Disdainfully watching the struggling woman, he slapped out the glowing embers. He kicked her hard enough to lift her body from the ground. Again. Screaming out her fury, B'Elanna rammed into him before he could a third time. He rolled with the attack and came up swinging. They circled and exchanged thundering blows from fist, elbow, foot, and knee. No ground gained, the both dove for the bat'leth and grappled for it. In raging desperation, B'Elanna sank her sharpened teeth into his thumb. It popped off. Merzan yanked back the damaged hand, giving her the chance to rise with the weapon and spit out the foul appendage. "Submit!"

Howling, his hand spurting blood, he instead demanded of his people. "Kill this woman!"

Muttering responded.

"Obey me!"

"You have been defeated honorably, twice. By each of these warriors. To attack these _par'Mach'kai_ now would be dishonorable, Merzan." An older Klingon defied him and released the prisoners. They streamed out and circled around Seras, checking her health and making angry grumbles. Even Harry looked ready to start another fight.

"Your _bat'leth_ belongs to her now." B'Elanna informed Merzan and stalked to Seras. "Carry this," a crewman was ordered as she shoved the weapon into his hands. She knelt and scooped her unconscious friend up. Fresh anger and fear burned inside when she saw blood also trickling from Seras' ears.

"_Voyager_ to Lt. Torres."

She almost cried out in relief. "Go ahead."

"The dampening field is down and we have a transporter lock. Prepare to beam out."

"Send myself and Seras directly to sickbay." She ordered.

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

In sickbay, B'Elanna rushed Seras to a biobed, hovering anxiously until the Doctor ordered her to move away so he could do his job. Though Seras was unconscious, he administered a mild sedative to calm the hyper-stimulated nervous system. Next, he stopped the hemorrhaging in her brain. He set the diagnostics to continuously scan her, hoping to find some new details to help with her existing problem. A dermal re-generator took care of the laceration on her lower jaw. With nothing more to be done without a thorough understanding of her neurology, he tended to the injured crewmen who were coming in.

Several burns, bruises, and mild lacerations treated later, he turned on B'Elanna. She had managed to sidestep every attempt while there were others to be treated, but now she was the only one left. And he was highly irritated by her avoidance.

"Lieutenant, there's blood all over you, how can you be okay?" The Doctor tried again to scan her again, but she smacked him away.

"It's not mine! Merzan bled like a stuck _targ_ all over me."

Chakotay coughed a little laugh, his chest still aching from a pain-stick he'd endured. "She bit off the Klingon's thumb."

"At least I know the teeth work." The Doctor muttered. "At least let me check to see if you've loosened any."

B'Elanna bared them at him, but not in an offer to be examined. "Wait, you're not going to take this junk off?"

"Not while we still have guests onboard. Now, open up."

"I spend too much time here." Seras complained. It pulled them from their argument.

"Yes. You do." Whipping around, relief flooding her, B'Elanna agreed.

The Doctor added, "You should stop putting yourself at Death's door."

"I'll keep that in mind, Doc." Seras grumbled.

"You're not stable, but I know how much your loathing of sickbay will affect your ability to recover. So," he approached with a neural monitor. "You'll wear this monitor and report back in the morning for a checkup. Lieutenant, you're to keep an eye on her. Take her to your quarters."

Seras smiled at him. "Thank you."

He was shocked enough by her pleasantry to be rendered speechless. B'Elanna took that pause to help Seras off the bed and out of sickbay.

* * *

"Hey, B'Elanna, what's a _par'Mach'kai_?" Seras asked while B'Elanna was irritably playing with the enhancements that the Doctor insisted she keep wearing. The pointed caps on her teeth made her mouth feel too full. And the forests of eyebrows itched.

She scratched at her enhanced forehead, not willing to look at Seras. "Soul mate."

"And _bangwI_'?"

"How do you manage to remember Klingon so easily?" B'Elanna changed the topic.

The human shrugged. "What's _bangwI_'?"

"My beloved," was growled.

"Why's all my stuff in here?" Seras fingered the unique blanket that she had traded for a few weeks ago.

B'Elanna stood and looked around. "I don't know."

The door chimed and admitted one suspiciously edgy Harry. "Hey, guys. How are you feeling, Seras?"

"Brilliant and tired," was the yawned reply.  
"Harry, what's going on?" B'Elanna gestured at her room.  
"Neelix thought it was a good idea to continue the ruse up here. In case the Klingon delegation decided to stop by for a glass of blood wine." He explained while his eyes wandered to the appropriated _bat'leth _resting on her table. "This is Merzan's?"

B'Elanna was busy trying to figure out why it had been delivered so quickly and if it was linked Seras' carefully deposited belongings. Seras grinned. "Did you see Merzan's face when I lit his blade up with sparks?"

"Why did you put yourself at risk like that? You know your gift is taking a hard toll on you! B'Elanna could have handled that jerk." He took on his overly worried mother voice. Or his unable to admit feelings voice. B'Elanna wasn't sure. Both irritated her. Now wasn't the time for company, not when Seras needed to recover from the tolls Harry was complaining about.

"Merzan didn't exactly give her a choice, Harry. You know that."

He pouted and looked angry, in that very unique Harry Kim way. "They're expecting you two to make an appearance."

Wrinkling her nose, B'Elanna grunted. "She's exhausted, and I'm not interested."  
Harry scratched his head. "The captain made some excuses for you, but you're to show up for dinner at eighteen hundred."

"That's only two hours!"

"Sorry."

Seras pat Harry on the arm and smiled. "Thanks, man. It's not your fault we've been given a bad hand."

"Tuvok wanted me to remind you of Klingon olfactory senses and the importance of appearances." Harry continued and pulled something from a pocket. "He had me drop by sick bay for this."

It was a hypospray. B'Elanna groaned.

"Do you know what he's talking about?"

"I have an idea." She grumbled. "We'd better get started with everything so she can rest."

"Right." Harry backed out of the room, his eyes on Seras. "I hope you feel better."  
Seras waved at him. "Thanks. Later."

Door closed, B'Elanna turned to Seras. "We'd better get the appearances part done with now, or it'll look odd fresh."

She rubbed her arm. "What exactly are we talking about?"  
"We're supposed to be married."

"Not just soul mates?" A lift of her lips creased her eyes. B'Elanna found her own lips curling in echo.

"Yes." Suddenly it was easier to explain. "And Klingon females are well-known for their voracious sexual appetites. We mark our mates by biting them hard enough to draw blood, especially when our claim may be questioned."

"Oh. Of course. I remember reading about that."

"Appearances. The captain bought us a couple hours for you to rest by using the general Klingon assumption that I would want to bed my," B'Elanna found herself swallowing, "Wife as soon as we returned. Having them assume you're healthy enough for a round with me after a battle will give us a tactical advantage in case they decide to be less friendly."

Seras cleared her throat. "What else is expected?"  
"Acting, obviously."

She nodded.

"And Klingons have a strong sense of smell. We'll need to exchange shirts or something to make sure our scent is on the other." B'Elanna finished.

"That's easy enough."

"Yeah."

B'Elanna stayed on her side of the room.

Seras was watching her, a little too calmly. "Let's get this over with."

She steeled herself, looked everywhere but at Seras, and punched a wall.

"Do it, B'Elanna."

"Hh!" She growled.

"_Qo'nuch_!" Seras growled back. "Don't be such a coward. Bite me already!"

Enough indignant anger gave her the momentum to grab Seras by her uniform top and shove her back into the chair. Breathing heavily, she took in her scent and trusting expression, closed her eyes, cursed every deity she could think of. Her eyes snapped open, and she bit Seras just to the right of her chin.

The dominant position and sweet adrenaline, combined with the taste of sweat and fresh blood and the sound of Seras' gasp, sent B'Elanna's pulse into warp. Automatically, she licked the wound. Another gasp hitched out of Seras. B'Elanna yanked herself away, panting, every nerve feeling charged with plasma. Fumbling, she grabbed for the hypo. "It's for the pain and to prevent infection."

Her fingers were too slippery, and it popped out of her hands, rolling across the floor. Cursing, she chased after it. When she came up, fumbling again, Seras grabbed her hand and took it. She pressed it to her own neck. B'Elanna watched her hands drop tiredly to her lap, and a sigh flutter from her lips. Angry at her inability to control herself, B'Elanna pushed away the arousal to help Seras from the chair to the bed.

The woman was asleep and snoring lightly before she was even tucked in. Amused, B'Elanna shook her head. She could use a nap herself and would sleep comfortably having a warm body to snuggle with again. First though, she had to calm the fire in her blood. She took herself to the hygiene closet. A half hour later, calmed and refreshed, she slid into bed. Going with her first instinct, she curled protectively around her bed-mate, luxuriating in the scent and warmth of her.

* * *

**Translations:**

_yljatlhQo_' – Don't speak!

_bangwI_' – My beloved

_ghuy'cha – _Explicative. Slightly stronger than 'dammit'.

_par'Mach'kai – _Soul mate

_baktag – _Insult.

_bat'leth – _Traditional Klingon weapon.

_jey_ _yIyoH – _Admit defeat.

_Qo'nuch – _Don't be a coward.


	19. Naked

**Chapter 19**

_**Naked**_

Loud, intrusive banging on the door dragged them from sleep. Cursing, B'Elanna snarled, "I'm going to rip someone's arms off."

She slammed the door key. "What _petaQ_ thought..."

The door whooshed open, and Kaarvkor grinned at her. "I came to escort you and your _be'nal_ to dinner."

"Kaarvkor." B'Elanna stated. His assigned two-person security detail shrugged apologetically. Behind the screen, she heard Seras shuffling on the bed.

"May I come in?"

"I-"

"Let him in, _bangwI_'." Seras said.

B'Elanna glanced back to gape in surprise. Seras was wearing only a short and silky robe sensually outlining every single curve, every line, every stiff point. Its trim fluttered around her thighs, parting slightly in the front, enough to tease of her shadowed places. Breathing became a chore.

"Ah. I see I woke the two of you after all. Your exercises must have been exhausting." Kaarvkor guffawed.

Seras draped herself around B'Elanna, their bare legs brushing, heatedly reminding B'Elanna of her own forgotten pants. The Doctor's thoroughness in her disguise became much less irritating. But that might have been because her arousal returned like a greedy Ferengi at the luxuries she was displaying, the heat she exuded, the way her hands felt around her waist, her body pressing along hers. "My B'Elanna was eager to see all of my battle wounds." She pulled the half-Klingon out of the doorway. "Come, sit while we freshen up and dress for public."

They retreated to the hygiene closet. Giggling started to bubble out of Seras and burst into full out laughter. "His face!" She whispered. "Your face!"

Laughing, she dropped the robe and stepped into the sonic shower. B'Elanna's eyes took in the sight of her completely naked for the first time. What had been arousal before was now a raging demand from her core until her eyes fell on prominent scars. Most looked surgical in origin, and imagining the horrors that Seras endured to get those had her slamming a fist into the wall in sudden outrage. Seras made a little shriek and whirled around.

The fresh view gave her emotions whiplash. Dragging her sight up from where it was newly focused was far from easy. And it got distracted along the way. All those other scars and curves and changes in skin tone...

Seras nipped out an irritated, "What?"

It was what B'Elanna needed to finish bringing her gaze to Seras' face. She swallowed hard. "Your scars. Thinking about what they did to you..."

A finger dropped to trace a line on her hip. B'Elanna struggled not to visually follow it. Seras sighed, her emotional walls closing, and her expression fading to impassive. "It's part of the past now." She started the sonic shower sequence. Another flame of anger curled B'Elanna's fist, this time from the sudden pain of Seras shutting her out. Five minutes later, she had calmed and washed the sleep from her face, and Seras was done in the shower. They crossed to the sleep area, intending to put on regular clean uniforms, but there was a bundle on the dressing table.

Unfolding it produced a Starfleet dress uniform with ensign rank on the collar and a fresh replica of B'Elanna's costume from the night before. B'Elanna guessed that it had been transported there while they napped. "Ensign Seras," she whispered, "Has a ring to it."

Rings. There were two of them, their shine catching B'Elanna's eye from the floor. They must have fallen from the clothing. Slowly, she picked them up. Seras' expression was inscrutable as she looked at them in B'Elanna's palm. Abruptly, she shook her head and whispered. "Do Klingons wear them?"

"No."

Seras carefully placed the rings in a decorative bowl and got dressed. Pulling at the stiff uniform collar, expression returned to her face, and she smiled at B'Elanna's costume. Her fingers trailed over the belt and knife hilt. Without thinking, B'Elanna's hand darted out and caught the fingers. Questions appeared in Seras' eyes, but she didn't have any answers. She jerked her head toward the sitting room where Kaarvkor was waiting.

Their fingers laced together, and they went to meet the governor. "Governor Kaarvkor, this is Seras. My," she glanced at her friend, "_be'nal._"

"It is an honor, Seras. Your crew has told me much about you."

"As long as it wasn't Tom telling you stories about the beach, then they were all good things, I'm sure." Seras had on a winning smile.

"Good and impressive." He gestured at the _bat'leth_ that Harry had admired. "This is inscribed with the House of Anagg's insignia. I did not believe the ridiculous story that your Commander Chakotay spun until I saw this. There will be songs of the demon Seras and her mate defeating Merzan."

Fingers squeezed her own, and B'Elanna wished she could tell what Seras was thinking. She stroked the tense hand with her thumb.

"I wished I could have been there to see it." Kaarvkor lamented. "Merzan is a fool. Hopefully this defeat will have taught him something about honor." Again, his expression turned keen and his voice was suspiciously calm. "If you can manipulate energy so easily, why did you allow yourself to be imprisoned?"

Seras didn't hesitate. "To protect my shipmates. Many were injured and could not travel quickly. We were in unknown territory. It was only a matter of time before B'Elanna and _Voyager_ came for us."

"Could I perhaps see these powers?" Kaarvkor asked.

This was probably something Seras would always get from strangers, B'Elanna frowned, remembering having asked for it herself once. Given her history, it couldn't be an easy thing. With the damage it was causing now, it was an unthinkable request. She hastily thought of a way to help Seras avoid it.

All of the lights in the room went out. Kaarvkor grunted and shifted in the sudden darkness, then squawked when several static shocks zapped him. Through their linked hands, B'Elanna felt a shiver from Seras, but couldn't tell if it was contained laughter or something other. The door to the corridor swished open, light streaming across them. Seras was half in shadow, her natural dark coloring faded her left side into the blur of the dark room. Her lit half smiled without humor. "Shall we go eat now?"

Suitably intimidated, Kaarvkor made a motion of a bow and preceded them out. B'Elanna hesitated, watching Seras take a deep, shuddering breath. She felt Kaarvkor's eyes on them and jerked her body to block his view, bent her head to put her in an angle that could be interpreted as kissing her wife. Only for Seras to hear, she hummed, "It's okay. Breathe."

A few static snaps bit at her, and she hissed at each. There was a low whimper from Seras.

"Sickbay?" B'Elanna asked. Hair tickled her cheek as Seras silently said 'no'. Not sure if her friend would want the hug she ached to give, B'Elanna offered more physical contact by touching foreheads.

_Zzk._ B'Elanna flinched at the sting. Was it a warning or accidental? "Sorry," belayed her worry.

She shrugged it off. "Doesn't hurt much."

"I will meet you in the messhall," came a gruff call. "Don't take too long." The door closed without bodies nearby. Left alone in the dark with Seras, B'Elanna wobbled. Soft pressure on her fingers reminded her that her hand was yet in Seras' grip. That and the scent of the woman, her warmth, became B'Elanna's entire universe. And the sizzling sparks. They dotted her vision like the stars outside.

One harsh breath came from Seras, and the biting light show ceased. Unexpectedly, Seras dropped her head to B'Elanna's shoulder. "Fuck, I'm tired."

"The captain will have our heads if I let you go back to sleep now." B'Elanna chuckled, relieved that Seras had regained control, wasn't hurting anymore. Unthinking, she kissed Seras' head. "Come on. Kaarvkor will just come back and harass us about sex if we don't catch up. Computer, lights at fifty percent."

"You really are completely comfortable with me." Seras had drawn her sight up to look at her. She looked positively exhausted, and in awe of what she was looking at. "Not even getting electrocuted because I can't control my power has scared you away."

"You see me despite the Klingon, how could I not?" There was such a depth of intimacy to that honesty that B'Elanna suddenly felt short of breath. Seras' free hand trailing up and dancing her fingers along the exaggerated forehead didn't help.

"We, um." B'Elanna struggled. "We should get going. If you feel well enough."

* * *

Janeway greeted Kaarvkor and looked expectantly to the doors. He grumbled. "Those two cling like leeches to each other. Their devotion is both encouraging and disgusting."

Tom, who had been chatting with the captain, coughed. When the Klingon looked at him, he gave an affable smile. "I'm surprised it took her as long as it did to chase after Seras. Aside from engineering, there's one thing that B'Elanna is always good for. Doing things the hard way."

Behind him, his best friend whispered in his ear. "Careful, Tom, your jealousy is showing."

Feeling like she was missing something based on Tom's slightly acid tone, Janeway peered closely at her young bridge officers.

"Where are the infamous females?" Another Klingon asked. There were now two dozen of them aboard _Voyager._ Every major house and important organization was represented. The entire planet had been watching, knew about Merzan's defeat within minutes, and wanted to meet the victors and their captain.

Kaarvkor sighed. "They are probably exchanging vows again."

_Swoosh_.

The room's attention immediately fixed on the pair of women striding into the messhall. Their joined hands, crisp uniforms, and confident posture were studied intently. Along the human's jaw, the fresh mating wound was inspected, nodded at, or whispered about. One of the Klingons also immediately demanded to see a display of power from the weak-looking human.

B'Elanna showed her teeth with a snarl. "My wife has nothing to prove to you."

"Indeed she does not." Kaarvkor gathered attention to himself. "I was not down there to witness Merzan's defeat, but I have seen firsthand," he paused. "Felt the sharp edge of her power. Be careful about asking this warrior to prove herself, or you may end up losing more than a thumb and _bat'leth_ like Merzan."

Hums and murmurs of thought passed through the room. Janeway was able to take a moment touch Seras on the shoulder and stealthily remove the cortical monitor. "We don't need to add to their list of questions," was hummed. For the benefit of eavesdroppers, "Lieutenant, Ensign" a private smile, "Keep the bloodwine down to one glass. I expect to see both of you on time to your duty shifts in the morning."

"Yes, ma'am." Chorused the women.

* * *

At some length, the party managed to get Seras involved in a heavy discussion with a trio of Klingons. She was carrying the conversation in their native tongue, and B'Elanna had quietly extricated herself to prevent embarrassment over her own non-fluency. A careful eye was kept on her friend, but she also looked the rest of the party over. Neelix was floating through the crowd, smiling, nodding, redirecting conversations, talking about everything from the food he had served at dinner to plasma injectors, and generally keeping the Klingons from brawling. In awe at his skill hidden under his bumbling attitude, she smiled.

Tuvok had one conversational companion, and the Klingon appeared to be holding her own against his logic. As always, Tom was chatting with a woman, the only surprising bit was that it was a Klingon woman. B'Elanna snorted, but grinned at Harry, who was furiously in drunken discussion about sensors. Chakotay and the captain looked happy, challenged by whatever topic the group around them gestured on about. Security officers were stationed just outside the messhall doors. A handful of other officers mingled. The Doctor was discussing Klingon opera, and B'Elanna hoped he didn't start singing. And then there was Seven, who looked to be verbally ripping apart a pair of younger Klingon males.

Catching her eye, Seven made a sharp movement and exited her interaction. Irritation clear in her features and fierce stride, she made her way to B'Elanna.

"Breaking hearts, Seven?"

The former drone quirked a rare smile. "Not as many as I believe your mating has."

Thrown by the smile, B'Elanna furrowed her brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Inflicting injury on your mate to indicate arousal seems excessive, lieutenant." Seven changed the subject. "Klingon courtship rituals are extreme."

"Or maybe Seras is particularly dense." B'Elanna snorted. Intense blue eyes became suddenly too interested in studying her. She changed the subject. "What do you think of full-blooded Klingons?"

"Easily aroused and difficult to be rid of. I don't understand what Seras sees in them."

"Wha-" B'Elanna quickly searched the crowd around Seras for any untoward behavior.

"She means you, B'Elanna." Tom's voice was drunkenly teasing. "The woman has a sense of humor hidden under those implants."

Getting the joke, B'Elanna scowled at Seven. "Your humor sucks."

"Your wife enjoys it."

B'Elanna gaped.

"See? Told you so." Tom laughed and swayed. "Whew! I'm glad that I don't have to report for duty tomorrow. This bloodwine packs a punch."

"Lightweight." B'Elanna shoved him lightly. He rocked on his heels, and his drink almost sloshed out of the glass.

"Hey!" He whined.

Seven raised her ocular implant at B'Elanna. "What is their topic of discussion?" Her hand indicated Seras' crowd.

"No idea."

Tom peered over the rim of his glass. "She made a tactical retreat when the big weapons were pulled out."

"Your Klingonese is insufficient to keep up with Seras." Seven noted.

"You have a way with words, Borg."

A superior shrug responded.

"Your woman is a fine one." Kaarvkor had snuck up behind B'Elanna. She almost squeaked in fright. Luckily, her blood was boiling with wanting to kill Seven, so her response was an aggressive, "Yes, she is."

"How long has she been speaking our language? If I closed my eyes, I'd think she was a Klingon from one of the holos in the library."

"I'd say a month." Grinned Tom.

Kaarvkor snorted into full-blown laughter. It sobered slightly. "You are not joking."

"Nope."

"It would be far easier to believe if you told me a few years, perhaps about the time B'Elanna began courting her." He spoke at a volume not intended to carry beyond their little circle.

It was then that B'Elanna guessed that Kaarvkor was a highly intelligent and shrewd man. He hadn't been fooled by her little attempt to hide Seras' weakness back in the room. She caught his regard. What else had he seen through? The whole charade?

* * *

Three weeks later, B'Elanna got her question answered. Together, the crew of _Voyager_ and the top minds of the Klingon colony had managed to set up a communications array that could send tightly compressed messages back and forth between the Delta and Alpha Quadrants with only three days delay. _Voyager_ would drop enhancers on her way home that would boost the signal. A rapport had grown between the crew and the colonists, sharing efforts, trading goods, and drinking during downtime. Most of the crew was torn between their desire to get back on the path home and enjoying the perks of a largely friendly planet and people.

Final goodbyes had been made, and Kaarvkor had cornered B'Elanna away from the others. He peered down at her. "I'll admit that it took a few days to convince me of your mating with the demon to be true, especially after I stumbled across the truth of your heritage and doubted your honor, B'Elanna Torres."

She bit her tongue and glanced at the captain, who was smiling at a bureaucrat.

"But now I know that the only deceit was that of omission of your human side." He rumbled. "And you did that to protect your mate and crew."

"Then why did you help us that first night?" She blurted out.

He grinned. "Because I was curious! You didn't smell of sex like you should have, but your affections for each other were obvious. Seras was obviously gifted with some sort of power. There were holes in your stories, but enough truth that I wanted a chance to get to know my enemy before I attacked."

B'Elanna swallowed at the comment about their affections.

"And I am glad I did. _Voyager's_ arrival and trade has been pivotal for my people." A truly warm gaze was sent to the planet seen spinning slowly through the window. "In a few years, once communication with the homeworld, and time has dulled suspicion and fostered affection, I will tell your true story to my sons. They will spread the truth that a half-Klingon and her _par'Mach'kai_ reunited us with our brothers and sisters in the Alpha Quadrant."

"But it wasn't-"

"Nonsense! It was your genius and drive that designed the communications array, and Seras' charms that got it working. You balance each other well. I saw her stop you from destroying that faulty relay system when it failed for the tenth time. She dragged you away, and when you came back, you were able to conquer your enemy!"

A trip hiking up a mountain so Seras could watch the sun set over an ocean had indeed refreshed her. The spontaneous woman had packed them a tent, food, and enough thermal layers to keep even B'Elanna warm in the frigid winds. The next day had been spent swimming and sunning beside a clear lake in a secluded valley. Without strangers or demands on her time, B'Elanna had been free to truly relax, be herself, and let her mind wander. To be honest, it had wandered mostly around the topic of Seras, the body she freely displayed to bathe in the cool waters, her brilliant mind, and how B'Elanna was getting far too comfortable with the idea of them being _par'Mach'kai_.

He lowered his voice to a mere whisper. "I also took the liberty of discovering that Seras was injured saving your ship when she first joined your crew. Merzan has no idea how lucky he is that she didn't have her full power." A hand gripped B'Elanna's shoulder. "I hope she recovers."

"Kaarvkor! Come, it is time to leave." The bureaucrat that had been talking with the captain called to him.

The governor made an agreeing noise. "Live well, B'Elanna. I hope to see you in Sto'vo'kor."

"Thanks. You too."

Without the Klingons, Janeway turned to B'Elanna. "What was that about?"

"He wanted to tell me that even a half-Klingon can be the subject of a story of honor." She replied.

To her surprise, the captain laughed. "I thought so."

"Captain?"

"Oh, you and Seras were marvelous, but we couldn't have pulled the wool over all those Klingons' eyes without the governor's help."

B'Elanna agreed with enthusiasm.

"One more thing. About Seras..."

* * *

"Why are you out of uniform, Ensign Seras?" Nicoletti berated her the moment she stepped into eyesight. She watched the woman glance down at her uniform.

"What?"

Vorik stepped close. "It is improper to appear for duty without your rank insignia properly in place."

The woman's hand went to her blank collar. "Bu-"

"Just because the Klingons are gone doesn't mean discipline is allowed to fall apart in my department." B'Elanna joined the attack.

Confusion raced across Seras, and uncertainty blinked at each of them.

"Possibly your memory has become faulty again." Tuvok had appeared.

"Maybe. She has been under a lot of stress lately." Tom shrugged.

Harry, Chakotay, and Seven ringed the circle. The Doctor ran a scan on his tricorder. "Her brain isn't any worse than normal, but what should I know?"

"I suppose it's my fault." Janeway's long-suffering tone barely hid the laughter B'Elanna knew was hiding under her command mask.

"Captain?"

Chakotay frowned playfully. "You forgot to tell her."

"Not at all." Janeway shook her head.

"She just thought it was a better idea to make a surprise party out of it." Carrying a little box, Neelix delivered the punch line.

Janeway plucked the box up and opened it. Inside was the collar pip for an ensign. "Field commissions are rare and require very special circumstances."

Realization dawned on Seras. The senior officers began to smile.

"But almost every day on this ship meets those parameters. And you, Seras, with your commitment to _Voyager, _to becoming part of her crew, you've proven yourself on numerous occasions to exceed those requirements." The open box was extended. "Under the authority given me by Starfleet Command, you are hereby granted the rank of ensign. Do you accept the duties and obligations inherent in the rank and swear to uphold the Prime Directive and serve this ship to the best of your abilities?" Janeway prompted the script.

An arc of blue static lifted off the woman. Janeway waited while B'Elanna steadied her friend with a hand to her shoulder, ignoring the little sparks that stung her hand while Seras calmed herself. A wealth of awe, sympathy, and respect settled in the captain's heart.

"I accept." Seras breathed. "I swear."

Janeway stepped close, felt her neck hairs rise at the fluxing energy surrounding the woman despite her apparent control, and situated the pip on her collar. She moved back and tapped her combadge. "Captain Janeway to the crew. I'm proud to announce that as of this moment, Ensign Seras is now a full member of this crew with all the responsibilities and privileges therein."

Thunderous applause rolled through the ship, welcoming and congratulating _Voyager's _newest. Gifted bloodwine was opened that night at a party that would bless many with raging hangovers. Seras and B'Elanna stumbled from it, colliding with each other and bulkheads multiple times before they arrived at the chief's quarters. In the doorway, Seras stalled.

"I've got my own room now."

B'Elanna paused with one pant leg held in the air and swayed on one foot. "Yeah. Guess you do."

Flutters came from Seras. She wobbled against the door frame. "I dunno where it is."

The pant leg was dropped, the other drooped around her ankle, forgotten. B'Elanna lurched forward and grabbed for Seras. "Find it later. I missed my pillow last night."

Tripping over her pants, she collided with the wall instead. She rolled away, holding her forehead and complaining about dancing walls. Seras giggled. "Poor baby. Should I kiss it, make it better?"

"Yes." B'Elanna somehow got to her feet and pulled Seras from the door. She tripped over her pants again, taking them both to the carpet. Furiously, she attacked her pants while Seras howled in laughter. Winning her battle, the half-Klingon attacked her shirt next. Soon, it was flying across the room, leaving her only in panties. She crawled to where she remembered a night-shirt was supposed to be. Thus began her next clothing struggle.

Victorious, eventually, she eyed the bed, wondering if she could mount it before it swam away. Seras' legs stole her attention. They got to the bed first, and her body abruptly followed, collapsing to the mattress, feet sticking off. B'Elanna had to get up there. Her pillow awaited!

"Oof." Her pillow muttered at the weight dropped on it. Then it complained when B'Elanna rummaged for the blanket and yanked it up around her shoulders. Content and warm, she snuggled into Seras, who whined. "I forgot to kiss it better."

B'Elanna craned her neck out of its comfortable position to allow the kiss to be placed to her forehead and its blissfully normal ridges. Happy with the universe, she returned her cheek to the warmth of a bare chest, and its lullaby of a heartbeat.


	20. Problems with Tension

A/N - *drumroll*

* * *

**Chapter 20**

_**Problems with Tension**_

"What's your problem today, Lana?" Tom prodded at lunch.

B'Elanna considered dismembering him. "It's called a hangover."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I have a hangover. You've got a problem."

Wishing the subject of her thoughts was there instead of Tom, B'Elanna abruptly wondered why her lunches never seemed to line up with Seras'. After all, she did the scheduling around engineering. She really did try to play favorites sometimes, but the universe refused to cooperate.

"Did you do something stupid while you were drunk?"

"No." Not exactly.

"Did she?"

Why did he have to be so perceptive today? B'Elanna gave up trying to stick her forkful of veggies in her mouth. "She who?"

He didn't respond.

"Thomas Eugene Paris, if you don't stop with the crap, I'm going to rearrange your appendages." She threatened.

"You're always violent when you're defensive. I struck a nerve, didn't I?"

"You're an ass. Go back to bed and sleep it off." She countered.

* * *

The wall of her quarters didn't yield any more answers than the inside of her eyelids, the bottom of a glass, nor the passing stars. Seras was avoiding her, and B'Elanna didn't understand why. Yes, they'd woken up tangled in her bed, but it certainly wasn't the first time. It was the first time that Seras had been almost naked, but B'Elanna had been perfectly polite about it. She'd apologized about the drool. She had even conquered her arousal at waking up in that position! Both remembered that nothing unusual had happened the night before. And Seras had left her quarters saying that she didn't feel weirded out about the situation. That was eight days ago.

Sucking up her pride, she called Tom and asked for his opinion. His suggestion was that they go to the holodeck and play a few rounds of pool at Sandrines, the bar program that usually ran this time of evening. There would be a lot of crew there, blowing off steam. The noise of the bar would keep their conversation from being too public.

Tom nodded at her when she showed up. "I've got 'em racked. You can break first."

Picking up a cue stick, B'Elanna sized up her opponent. He looked tired. Not the physical kind of tired. Emotionally. She bent over and lined up her shot. "You okay, Tom?"

The balls cracked together and bounced off the bumpers of the table. Two striped balls dropped into pockets. B'Elanna picked her next target.

"No."

She didn't get any in, and Tom hadn't elaborated. She frowned. "You going to explain?"

He also failed to drop a ball. When he straightened, he sighed. "I'm jealous."

"Of what?" He wasn't still in love with her, was he?"

"My best friends all have someone to moon over and chase. I've eaten dinner by myself more often than not for the past month."

"Seras and I had t-"

"You're totally in denial." He cut in.

Anger rumbling in her chest, she changed the topic. "Who is Harry eating with?"

"Seven."

She blinked in surprise. "The drone?"

"If I don't tell you to stop calling her that, Harry will be mad at me."

"Why should I?"

"It's demeaning. She's not a drone anymore."

"Her emotional capacity remains a drone's." B'Elanna argued.

"Seras would disagree." He looked her right in the eye. "Maybe I should get her to tell you to stop."

Shrugging carelessly, aggressively, B'Elanna snorted. "She'd have to stop avoiding me first."

"That's what your problem's been. What happened between you? Did you finally kiss her?" He leaned on his cue stick.

"No, I didn't kiss her!"

A thoughtful purse of his lips. "She didn't reject you, did she?"

Taking a threatening step forward, she hissed. "Why are you obsessed with this fantasy of me and Seras?"

He didn't retreat. "Because everyone will talk about it but you."

_Seras has shown herself to be deferential to your emotional needs._

It was her turn she noticed. She was too distracted and scratched her shot. Glaring at the the table, she breathed out. "She's never shown any indication that she's attracted to me."

"Then you haven't been paying attention." A moment, and his voice softened. "Or you've been too afraid to let yourself see it."

Twin lines were cooling on her face. Irritably, she wiped them away.

"Computer, locate Ensign Seras." Tom requested.

"Ensign Seras is in cargo bay one."

Tom looked at her, his eyes full of challenge.

* * *

In the cargo bay, Seras was juggling weighted balls that B'Elanna had helped her replicate. At B'Elanna's appearance, her shifted attention had a lump falling on her head. She hissed.

"Why are you avoiding me?" Calmly, softly, B'Elanna asked.

"You're as blunt at Seven sometimes, you know that?" Seras complained.

Her nerves grated. "I've got a lot more tact than that drone."

"She's not a drone. You shouldn't call her one."

_"Maybe I should get her to tell you to stop."_ Tom's voice echoed in her skull. He could see it, the way that B'Elanna would bend over backwards to accommodate Seras. The way B'Elanna wanted more than friendship with her. "Fine. I'll stop."

Seras gave her a little grin. "Thanks."

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

The grin vanished. "You're as persistent as her too. I get why you two don't get along."

"You're still as evasive as a Ferengi."

"I like these Ferengi more every time you talk about them. Eventually, I'm going to have to do some research on them myself." She hummed.

B'Elanna was tempted to leave. She wanted a fight more. "What do I have to do to get an answer out of you? Break something?"

"I'm conflicted," was the completely useless response.

"About what?"

"Our friendship." Seras finally gave a definite detail.

Her strained patience was about to hit the breaking point. "What about it?"

"It's changed. It has to change."

"Dammit, Seras. Stop talking in circles and give me a real answer! Show me what's inside your head!" There it was, her Klingon anger had reached its boiling point. Her blood was on fire. It was time to fight or flee.

"I want to show you, but I don't how, or if I even should!" Seras vented.

Charged silence and tension followed. Seras mimicked her usual physical manifestation of frustration and started pacing. She waited for more, but like Tom had been, Seras wasn't elaborating. It was killing her, this, this... whatever it was.

"What do you want from me?!" B'Elanna shouted, tears pooling in her eyes. "Show me already!"

Seras stilled her pacing and focused directly on her. The fire in her gaze sent trembles racing down B'Elanna's spine. Spikes of heat blossomed in her middle at every stalking footstep Seras made toward her. A visible arc of energy sizzled, and Seras' body language was broadcasting battle, yet B'Elanna simply stood her ground, instead of sinking into a defensive crouch, waiting for the other to make her move.

As the space disappeared between them, B'Elanna registered a vulnerability in Seras' eyes that she hadn't seen before. Mere centimeters separated them now, and the half-Klingon also realized that Seras' body language was not signaling aggression at all. It was fear, and determination to overcome it. What was the woman afraid of? Not, B'Elanna swallowed, not her, was it?

"Are you positive that you want me to show you what I want?" Seras was so close, B'Elanna could feel her heat. Her breath moved the fine hairs standing at attention.

B'Elanna shivered, nodded. Her reply was breathless, "Yes."

Seras' eyes flicked down and back. "As you want."

One of her hands moved, slowly, but with purpose. It lifted to B'Elanna's face, curled into a white-knuckled fist, and quivered. B'Elanna closed her eyes and felt the hot tears run down her cheeks, expecting violence. They flew back open at the soft touch of fingers on her skull ridges, tracing the lines until they sank into her hair. She leaned into the touch, and it cradled her. A thumb traced her cheek, wiping away a tear. The same moistness reflected in Seras' eyes.

The woman was shaking.

"Seras?" Her own fears easily forgotten, she worried for Seras. Her voice seemed to set off something inside Seras, because her trembling finished. Seras blinked, and the tears fell, seeming to take the fear with them. She inhaled sharply and snapped forward, lips first.

A sizzle of energy flashed from their lips, igniting B'Elanna's entire body. On top of the static electricity, she recognized the primal reaction of arousal. But the way Seras was yet holding her cheek, how her other hand was wrapping itself around her waist, her lips were massaging her own, cooled the urge to bite. It stroked an entirely different flame inside her, one that wanted to pull Seras close and never let go. B'Elanna kissed back, tasting salt and lips and Seras. Time fell away from them. All there was, was each other.

"Engineering to Lt. Torres."

"Mmph."

"Chief?"

Breath and mental focus were too difficult to regain. It was much easier and more pleasant to lose herself to the scorching feel of the body and lips sliding along her own.

"Chief? There's an emergency down here. We need you." Lt. Carey's voice finally broke through the haze, forced B'Elanna to respond to responsibility instead of her racing pulse and Seras' pungent arousal.

"Acknowledged," was all she could manage.

* * *

Even though her Klingon genes dominated her human side, it didn't mean that she always wanted it rough, needed violence in the bedroom. Tom had thought she was joking when she once suggested they try it gentle. He was too predisposed to the stereotype, and she was too scared of appearing vulnerable to push the matter. This human woman from the past had no preconceptions about Klingons and didn't give a damn about what the others thought of her. B'Elanna couldn't remember a time when she had ever been kissed with that much passion that didn't involve teeth or nails or crashing body parts.

She touched her lips.

Hastily, she made an appointment with the captain. She needed to talk, and Harry or Tom or Seras were out of the question.

* * *

"Captain, I could use your advice." B'Elanna fidgeted.

Janeway sipped from her coffee. "Of course, B'Elanna. What is it?"

She started to pace, wringing her hands. The captain raised her brow and leaned into her seat, preparing herself for a long wait. With enough coffee, she could wait a long time if needed.

B'Elanna stopped and looked at the floor. "Do you..."

Her pacing continued.

She stopped. "What..."

Pacing.

Stop. "I don't..."

Pacing.

Stop. She growled in frustration.

Janeway willed her eyes not to roll and instead enjoyed her steaming coffee. She watched B'Elanna pace and fret for an entire cup. At that point, she made a decision. She ordered another cup, sat back down, and gave her chief engineer another five minutes. "B'Elanna."

"Captain, I'm sorry. It's... I can't..."

"I can see that whatever is bothering you is very difficult. Let me help. Is this a professional matter, something to do with _Voyager_ or a danger to this crew?" Janeway simplified.

"No."

"Is this a matter you should be discussing with the Doctor? You aren't getting out of any physicals."

"No, captain. Nothing like that."

Janeway felt a class four headache forming. "Then it's a personal matter."

"Yes." At least the younger woman had stopped her incessant pacing.

"Did Seven make adjustments without your permission again?"

B'Elanna's eyes narrowed. "Not that I know of."

A grin fought to settle on Janeway's lips. Those two were like children on a playground. She swore that sometimes Seven did it on purpose, to get a rise out of B'Elanna. Seven clearly respected the chief engineer, her ability to do her job and get the best out of _Voyager_. And she had also admitted to Janeway that she enjoyed working with B'Elanna. The former Borg was a grown woman, but her social abilities generally reflected a child's. She needed a lot of tutoring and patience in the fine art of friendships. Janeway sipped her coffee to cover her lapse in attention.

"Harry?"

B'Elanna's 'no' was soft.

Janeway helped herself to a bracing sip and deep breath. "Tom?"

Tension radiated from B'Elanna, yet she shook her head. "No."

At a sudden loss, Janeway set her coffee down. "B'Elanna, wh-" She remembered something she had heard whispered in the mess hall. "Is the crew hassling Seras again?"

B'Elanna's eyes whipped up from their perusal of her hands. "Not exactly. It's not as bad as what Seven had to go through. She has the hearts of the senior staff." Her voice shifted dangerously. "Some of the lower ranks are just irritated to have another non-Starfleet suddenly at a higher position of responsibility and trust than them."

Janeway knew that Seven was extremely protective of Seras. Chakotay had finally been convinced of her being worthy of the crew when she'd regained her memories. Tom and Harry had taken to the woman with gusto, immediately dragging her into their Captain Proton games. Tuvok respected her. The Doctor had trouble getting her to sit in sickbay for any length, but reported that she was becoming more patient with him. She smirked a bit at her play on words. Neelix adored her, despite the woman's tendency to mimic Tom's dislike of the food. Janeway herself thought highly of the young woman, otherwise she never would have considered making her an ensign. And B'Elanna spent a lot of time with her, even away from teaching, experiments with energy flows, and the warp core. If Seras wasn't with Tom, she was with B'Elanna.

"Are Tom and Seras," That didn't feel like the right way to ask that question. "Do you still have feelings for Tom?"

"That's not," B'Elanna ran a hand through her hair.

"Jealousy is difficult to handle." Janeway hated these inter-personal matters; her role was her crew's captain. She tried her best to avoid getting involved. Professional disputes were okay to land on her desk, but matters of the heart were Neelix's arena. That's part of why she had originally allowed him to stay aboard. He enjoyed becoming involved in the crew's interpersonal drama, which kept her out of it. She reached for her coffee.

"Yes, I'm sometimes jealous of their time together, but that's not," a groan spewed out of her. "Captain, she kissed me!"

Janeway choked on her coffee.

"It was gentle and sweet and tender and nothing like anything else I've ever experienced. There wasn't an ounce of violence in it," B'Elanna's voice peaked and dropped. "But the passion that came through it was anything but calm. It raged like an antimatter reaction! And I liked it, captain. I liked it, my Klingon side liked it, my human side liked it, and I want it to happen again."

B'Elanna stood trembling like a cadet at her first zero-gravity test. Tears flooded the usually strong woman's eyes. Janeway felt her maternal side take over and held her arms open. "Come here, B'Elanna."

As the troubled engineer dropped into her arms, she allowed herself to recognize how many of her crew saw her as a maternal figure. And they were the children she would never have with Mark. Her own personal heartache that she had only talked about with Tuvok and Chakotay. She felt her eyes going hot being reminded of how he had moved on when _Voyager _was thought destroyed, found love and a future with another woman. Being lonely was a battle she was very familiar with, knew every one of her crew struggled against it at some point. Whenever one of them found a way to fight back, to conquer it, she cheered them on.

"Captain, is it," B'Elanna sniffed, but made no move to exit the embrace. "I don't understand."

Janeway chuckled softly. "The heart is the least understood aspect of humanity. Just ask the Vulcans."

"I'm not human, captain."

"Nor are you Klingon." Janeway replied. "You're B'Elanna Torres."

A hum of some sort came from the half-human.

"The sentiment still applies. You don't have to understand a good thing to be able to enjoy it."

* * *

The Doctor leapt up from his chair and whooped in uncharacteristic enthusiasm. He caught himself immediately, glad that sickbay was empty. The grin on his face didn't fade a micron though. Not only had his hypothesis about the unfortunate combination of Levodian Flu, exhaustion, and lingering effects from a mild neurotoxin that had been present in the food cubes being the cause of Seras' trouble handling energy, but his treatment was successful. Simulations and trials with live cultures of Seras' brain and neural tissue had confirmed it. He could cure her!

_RED ALERT. ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS. _The klaxon rang, and the Doctor sighed.


	21. Minefield

**Chapter 21**

_**Minefield**_

_Voyager _had the unfortunate luck to wander into an old mine field left behind by warring alien states that barely even existed anymore. That meant round the clock repairs while the bridge crew eased the ship back out of it. No time to sleep and even less time to think. B'Elanna dropped her head to the frame of the station she was at. She hadn't even seen more than a glimpse of Seras since the cargo bay kiss several days ago, let alone talked with her. Yawning, too tired to even complain inside her head, she went back to trying to recalibrate the antimatter injectors.

* * *

Out of the minefield, the Doctor rejoiced in being able to ask the chief of engineering for help in designing holodeck exercises to precisely test Seras' powers. For once, B'Elanna dove into the project with quiet zeal instead of putting him off for days. Well, after he had explained that he had been giving Seras treatments for her neurological disorder and needed to be able to safely test it. That was when she'd stopped arguing about other projects having priority.

* * *

The Doctor supervised Seras' final holodeck exercises with a puffed chest. She had passed every test that he and B'Elanna had designed with flying colors. Two weeks ago, he had finished treatment of her neurological disorder and began careful tests to ensure its success. There were absolutely no signs of her former affliction. In fact, she had informed him that she'd never felt more sure of her power. To prove her point, she had rearranged the photonic energy of a hologram while jogging an obstacle course. It shattered into a glittering cloud and swirled gently. When she relinquished control, the hologram reverted.

Yellow alert froze the program, and the commander's voice was heard ship-wide. "All hands to duty stations."

"Computer, end program," huffed the Doctor. Seras was already at the exit. "Transfer EMH program to sickbay."

* * *

B'Elanna felt more than saw Seras enter engineering and take position at a console. They still hadn't had a chance to talk, and it was killing her. She wanted to talk about their relationship, to hear about the Doctor's treatment and tests, and simply be in her company again. Life without a constant dose of Seras was...

Seras glanced over her shoulder, their gazes instantly meeting. A smile perked on B'Elanna and was slowly mirrored. _Voyager _shuddering under an attack cut their staring short, Seras twisting to study her console. B'Elanna couldn't help it, she watched the woman instead of turning to her own duties. It took shouts from around her to pull her to her own job. Some sort of pulse had already disabled the weapons and navigation systems, and it was starting to drain the shields.

* * *

On the viewscreen, the ship captain who was behind system-draining pulse grinned greedily. "We heard that you escaped the _sipu_ plant slave farms. You will give us the technology that allowed you to do that. And anything else you have in your cargo bays."

Janeway kept her inner snarling from showing on her face. Seras was the 'technology' that had helped them escape. There wasn't even half a thought of giving the young woman away, and there was no way she was going to give up their fresh resources without a fight. Or, that's what she wanted to say. Without shields, _Voyager_ would be defenseless. Another barrage like that would finish draining power. She swallowed a thousand emotions and prepared to negotiate their surrender.

"Captain!" Harry was excited. "Captain, the shields are at one hundred and fifty percent!"

The alien on the viewscreen scowled and raged at them. "Lower your shields now, or I will sell you all back to the _sipu_ growers!"

Giving Harry a questioning look, Janeway allowed a little hope to blossom inside.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to," he shrugged.

A deep scowl came from the viewscreen.

"Captain, they're firing again." Harry stared at his displays.

The alien captain's scowl had morphed to complete rage. Janeway shifted. "Ensign?"

Several breaths passed, and the would-be mugger had begun yelling things that the translator couldn't keep up with. Janeway hadn't noticed a single buffet or anything that felt like an attack at all. "Report, ensign!"

"The shields are remaining stable at one-fifty, captain. Their attacks are," he gave their attacker a very satisfied expression, "Completely ineffective."

Janeway smiled. She didn't know what or why or how, but she would damn well use it. "Tuvok, weapons?"

"Aye, captain. I have restored power to the forward phaser banks."

Deadly intent took over the captain's face as she leveled her best force-ten glare on her enemy. "Fire."

An explosion rocked the cockpit on the viewscreen. The alien squeaked and began giving orders to retreat. Janeway was glared at, then the viewscreen went black.

"Get us out of here, warp six." Sitting around after a fight was never a good idea. Besides a counterattack, scavengers could show up. Janeway had had her fill of both.

Seconds later, Harry reported on the shields. "Captain, whatever was powering our shields is gone."

"Engineering to the bridge." B'Elanna's voice cut off Janeway's questions.

"Go ahead, lieutenant."

"Captain, Seras' enthusiasm disrupted some of the induction stabilizers in the deflector array as well as some secondary systems. We should drop out of warp as soon as possible."

Seras? Of course. What else? Janeway mirrored Harry's incredulous smile and turned to her pilot. "You heard her, Mr. Paris. Find us a nice rest stop."

* * *

Before the chance could be squandered, B'Elanna stole up to Seras' side. "Hey."

"Hi."

"Want to have dinner at my place tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?"

Nerves getting the best of her, she shrugged. "I want to say today, but I'll probably get caught up in repairs and work past dinner. Tomorrow though, barring any fresh hostile attacks, I can delegate and..." Her eyes cut back up from the floor.

Seras wasn't smiling like she'd hoped. She deflated.

"Does this mean you haven't been avoiding me?"

"Avoiding? No! It's been one emergency after another, and then all of your free hours were suddenly with the Doctor." B'Elanna argued. "Granted, maybe I could have sent you a comm, but, okay, maybe I've been a little scared and let excuses come up." She huffed and realized that most of engineering was surreptitiously staring at them. Growling, she shoved away the urge to yell at someone or to leave the situation. She stood her ground and waited for Seras to answer. "So, dinner tomorrow?"

Seras stopped rubbing her arm, and her shoulders drew back. "Only if it's a date."

A flush of heat gathered on B'Elanna's neck and cheeks. The softly aggressive demand was unanticipated, bringing on a rush of desire and embarrassment at the same time. Hating that she could practically feel the ears listening in on their conversation, she held back another growl. "Only if you bring wine."

Slowly, a delighted smile lit Seras' eyes, the blue ribbons in them standing out vividly. "It's a date."

* * *

The next morning, in order to be able to get anything done on her shift, B'Elanna chose a physically demanding project instead of a mental challenge. Stringing together two thoughts was difficult. Her mind kept jumping to think about her date. Hours of manual labor in, her brain finally slowed to the quiet pace of it. She was hip-deep in sludge when Vorik appeared. "Chief, it is after sixteen-hundred hours."

"Thanks, Vorik." Dismissively, she went on with her task.

A couple of moments later, Vorik was still there, and he prodded her again. "Chief, your shift ended an hour ago."

That wasn't anything new. She worked into Gamma shift regularly. "After I finish this I-"

Highly uncharacteristically of the ever-polite Vulcan, he interrupted her. "I believe that you're now seventeen minutes late for your date with Seras."

Swearing in Klingon, because once she'd started studying the language she found that its curses were incredibly more satisfying than Universal's, flew out of her. "Vorik, can you..." She gestured weakly at the mess.

"I will see it is completed, ma'am." He responded. "You may want to hail Seras. She might be perturbed by your tardiness."

"Right." She breathed. "Torres to Seras."

"Go ahead." Her voice was suspiciously calm. B'Elanna groaned. "I'm sorry I'm late, but I'm on my way now!"

Before she pelted away, she gave Vorik a desperate thank you. "I owe you."

Shipmates leapt out of her way as she ran full-out through the corridors. Flustered squeaks, angry mutters, and laughter followed B'Elanna. Her boots slipped at the corner before her quarters, and she slammed into the bulkhead with a resounding _crack_. She was busy cursing its hardness when a soft chuckle drew her attention to Seras standing in her open door.

Giving a sheepish grin, B'Elanna greeted her. "Why is my door open?"

"I let myself in after waiting for five minutes. I was getting up to leave when you hailed me." Her vision swept over B'Elanna. "I was angry about you standing me up, but watching you brake your run with that bulkhead totally made up for it."

B'Elanna peeled herself from the bulkhead and made to enter her quarters. Seras pulled away quickly.

"What have you been crawling in? You reek!"

"The engines. I'll be quick in the shower." She paused, belatedly noticing how attractively Seras was dressed. Tightly fitted white trousers and a flowing blue top showed off every line and curve, which had filled out delightfully since her early days on Voyager. Good food and training with Tuvok's security force had done wonders. Her muscles were becoming toned, and her hips and breasts were soft and full with health. The hollows in her cheeks were gone, replaced by an almost-plumpness. Seras' skin and hair practically glowed from proper care, and her eyes...

B'Elanna's breath stalled in her lungs. They looked more like folded steel than ever in the intense way Seras was staring back at her. Kissing her warped to the top of the list of things B'Elanna wanted to do that night. She took a step forward.

And another, but Seras backed off. "Nuh-uh. Not until you've showered."

Frustrated at the denial, B'Elanna yanked off her boots and jacket. A teasing idea took root, and she peeled out of her pants as well. Seras' eyes went wide. Pleased, B'Elanna pulled the undershirt up and off, then turned her back and removed her bra. Giving Seras a glance over her shoulder, she strutted to the shower. Inside, she ripped off her panties and tossed them into the room.

When she was done, she happily noticed how she only had a silken robe to toss on, remembering how when Seras had worn it, the effect had unhinged her own arousal. She crossed in Seras' full view, smiled at her, got a gulp from her date, and changed out of sight. A close-cut red dress showed off her best attributes, and she returned to her date. It was like walking into another bulkhead, how Seras' scent slammed into her. Instinct took over, her legs ate up the distance, and she was devouring Seras, kissing, tasting, touching. Fingers dipped below a waistband and caressed lower.

_Snap!_

B'Elanna growled, enticed by the pain, but another, stronger, much more painful zap was not at all pleasant. It broke through the haze. She blinked at Seras, and she saw fear. Appalled at herself, B'Elanna yanked her hands away, and turned around, cursing her aggressive Klingon side.

"B'Elanna," low and hesitant, Seras began.

"I'm sorry," came out in a cloud of self-hate.

"B'Elanna." Seras started again, her voice stronger. A hand gently tugging on her elbow surprised the half-Klingon. "Believe me when I say that I have never been so turned on in my life."

"Bu-"

The hand slid down to grab her own. "I _like _your aggressive side."

That time, B'Elanna lifted her gaze to look at Seras. "Then why do you seem terrified?"

"I..." Seras' thumb drew lines on the hand she was holding. "I've never been with anyone before. Before, that place, I'd been kissed twice, nothing else."

Her Klingon-powered sex drive thundered in frustration. She'd have to go slow! Taking a shuddering breath, she nodded.

"If you can handle a little wait, I'd like for you to be my first."

Lust and protectiveness warring inside, B'Elanna brushed back her hair. "Maybe I should change into somethi-"

"Don't you dare!" Seras barked.

Like a fueled flame, the desire roared high. She groaned. "If you keep saying things like that, I might not be able to control myself."

A saucy smirk shaping her lips, Seras shook her head. "Yes you can. B'Elanna _'oHbe' vaj toy'wI''a' rur 'op taHqeq Duj. ghaH guv je law' ghaH 'IH_."

Swaying from the amount of Klingonese Seras' talented mouth had delivered, B'Elanna gaped at her. "I'm what?" She blinked hard. "You've learned more Klingon in a handful of weeks than I have my whole life. At least when you meet Miral, she'll be impressed by one of us."

Shoulders and spine a little straighter, Seras quirked her head. "Miral? Your mother?"

Features pinching in realization of what she'd said, B'Elanna groaned. "My mother."

"You want me to meet your mother?" She squeaked.

"We'll make it to the Alpha Quadrant eventually. What exactly did you say to me anyway?" B'Elanna detoured.

Seras made a few faces, but answered. "My B'Elanna is not a willing slave to her instincts like some _taHqeq._ She is as honorable as she is beautiful."

"You," she failed at words and laughed. "See, with that kind of poetry, you're going to be stuck with me, and that means you're going to be introduced to my mother."

A depth of tenderness was suddenly in front of B'Elanna, and it threatened to swallow her alive. Without any doubts, B'Elanna wanted it to. She wanted for Seras to let her in, to allow her the honor of having that coveted place in her heart. The depth of _that_ desire shocked her, scared her more than a little, yet it wasn't enough for her to look away, to take a step back. Instead, when Seras moved close, she accepted the delicate kiss offered, enjoyed the arms circling her, and held the woman long after their lips parted.

* * *

The entire ship knew the day after the couple had consummated their relationship. B'Elanna received a summons to the captain's ready room ten days later.

"Lieutenant-commander Torres." Command mask at its most impassive, the captain formally addressed her.

Wary of the unusual attitude, B'Elanna stiffened to attention. "Captain?"

"I'm giving you access to whatever materials you need to soundproof your quarters. The complaints from your neighbors have to stop." Janeway demanded.

Flushing a deep burgundy, B'Elanna nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Is that all?"

"Yes."

The blushing woman about-faced.

"Oh, B'Elanna?"

She looked over her shoulder.

Janeway smiled and raised her mug of coffee in salute. "Congratulations to you both."

* * *

**Translations:**

_B'Elanna 'oHbe' vaj toy'wI''a' rur 'op taHqeq Duj. ghaH guv je law' ghaH 'IH - _My B'Elanna is not a willing slave to her instincts like some _taHqeq._ She is as honorable as she is beautiful.

_taHqeq_ – insult. No good qualities. Dishonest/deceitful


	22. Epilogue

A/N - As with all good things, this has come to an end. I tried hard not to let it feel rushed, but you'll have to let me know. Hopefully, it's an enjoyable conclusion to this little experiment of mine. And now I'm off to procrastinate with a different project...

* * *

**Epilogue**

_**Little Things**_

Four years worth of adventures, heartache, battles, and love later, _Voyager_ settled into orbit around Earth. Her crew was given a spectacular welcome home party, where the highest ranking officers in Starfleet, officials in the Federation, and ambassadors from every species attended along with family, friends, and thousands of well-wishers. A quadrant fresh out of the brutal war with the Dominion cheered for the safe return of the lost travelers they had been fascinated with for years. Promotions were handed out like candies, job offers were received for the most prestigious of places, and invitations to do and go anywhere among the stars made their way into inboxes.

Of course, not all of the return ceremonies were cheerful. Long debriefings were difficulties that all of the crew had to endure. Court-martials were entertained, though eventually dismissed. Detainment and study was suggested by fearful admirals and eager scientists of the two extra crew picked up in the Delta Quadrant. It was hastily denied when a full-out mutiny of the entire _Voyager _crew became a real possibility.

At last, all were given extended leave to travel the quadrant, reacquaint themselves with missed family, friends, and homes. Most of the crew scattered, but with a promise to reunite in six months, before those jobs and promotions and invitations had to be accepted. Seras and B'Elanna were among the last to be sitting at a quiet bar nearby Starfleet Headquarters, sipping drinks and watching the waves lap the beach.

Clad in an outfit the didn't accentuate every single curve of her body, instead leaving some things to the imagination, and hair kept in a flattering chin-length style instead of hidden in a bun, was Seven. She was sitting beside Harry Kim, brushing knees and nodding in agreement that the time was right. Her voice easily caught the other couple's attention, though it wasn't as sharp and efficient as it once was. "Seras, with Kathryn's assistance, I was able to finish my research into your family's history."

Watching her life-mate's face take on that impassive facade B'Elanna hated, she hoped it was good news.

"What happened to them?" Seras asked.

"Your parents lived out their lives much the same as when you were present. No other offspring came from them. They are both buried in Oregon. I have more details if you want." Seven offered.

"No. That's good enough."

Seven nodded. "After your presumed death, Inga relocated to her home country and invested the majority of the money your parents paid her. She became very wealthy and began to employ bodyguards, private investigators, and lawyers."

Seras' body was rigid, and B'Elanna gathered a hand in her own, stroking it reassuringly when it trembled.

"The woman hunted down the organization that had you. She found it and enough evidence to send international police forces to investigate three days after a massive electrical surge had forced its prime facility to evacuate. The police force gathered critical evidence, and the organization was dismantled, the majority of its employees imprisoned or otherwise punished, and dozens of subjects given proper medical care before being set free." Seven smiled at her. "She lived a long, fruitful life, continuing to track and destroy organizations like it."

Tears were drifting down Seras' cheeks. "Inga was looking for me."

"No." Seven said forcefully. "She knew where you went."

"What?" Both women demanded.

Harry leaned in. "We found a way to send you back in time..."

"No." Seras clutched at B'Elanna, who stood to protectively wrap arms around her love.

He went on as if she hadn't spoken. "To stay as long as you need to be able to say goodbye properly. Then you can come home."

Fear and something else in her eyes, Seras looked to B'Elanna and back. "How can you be sure it'll work?"

From a bag, Seven handed Harry a metal box. He set it in front of Seras. "There's a little book in there from her to you. A lot of work and commitment went into sealing, storing, and getting it delivered to Seven yesterday."

"There was a short note in there, addressed to me, that explained what it was." Seven explained softly. "I did not open your envelope."

Shivering fingers opened the box, pulled out a thick envelope that had her borrowed name on it. Unable to hold it, she asked for help, and B'Elanna carefully unsealed it to reveal a small journal, filled with stories and love and advice and recipes and everything a mother could give her daughter through words.

* * *

"What if..." B'Elanna twisted her lips.

"You worry too much, _bangwI_'." Seras grinned and kissed her. "See you soon."

"Ready?" Harry asked from his place beside Seven at the controls.

B'Elanna was gently pushed away from the center. Seras nodded. "Ready."

A flash of energy sizzled, and Seras was gone.

* * *

In the century that Seras wanted to grow old in, her nanny's native language was no longer spoken. To hear it coming from a passel of kids kicking a scuffed ball down the road was disorienting. She mouthed words that she hadn't spoken in a decade. Gingerly, she walked down the unfamiliar road, checking the map that she'd carefully replicated along with temporally-accurate clothes, boots, and a modified photograph of her smiling self being hugged by an equally happy B'Elanna. No cranial ridges on her half-Klingon, and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge background matched Inga's time frame. It was the only thing from the future that she meant to leave behind.

She took another turn, passed a bakery that smelled like a childhood memory and checked the map against the street name. Half a kilometer east and no, wrong way. Damn, she missed tricorders.

"Oh, sorry, young lady. I wasn't looking." An older woman carrying a grocery bag apologized for almost walking into her.

"No problem." Seras waved it off and returned to her map, momentarily disoriented by the near-collision, she twisted it to get her bearings.

The woman's footsteps paused. "Are you lost?"

Absolutely. "Maybe a little."

A gentle laugh came from the local woman. "Where are you trying to go, dear?"

Seras gave her the cross streets, pointing on the map where she thought it was.

"Not unless you're looking for a..." her voice hushed.

Curious, Seras peered up at the stranger, who wore a pensive expression on her face. "Um. I'm looking for a friend's house."

The expression vanished, replaced by a gentle smile. "Of course. I live just down the road from where you need to go. It's only a few minutes walk."

The lady commented on Seras' unfamiliar accent. "Are you Australian?"

"American," felt quite strange to say. On _Voyager_, she'd been a human from the past. In future San Francisco, she was a Starfleet officer from Earth.

"Oh. I suppose you don't all sound like the actors in movies." She chuckled.

"I travel a lot. It's muddled my accent." Seras shrugged it off.

"I see."

They crossed a busy intersection, walked into a heavily trafficked area. Alleyway trash, car exhaust, and heavy perfumes were thick on the air. Seras coughed, no longer used to such pollution. She covered her mouth and nose with a sleeve until abruptly they were in a fancy residential area. Fences and security cameras were popular in it. Thankfully, so were bushes and plants that absorbed a lot of the polluted air. The older woman looked at her and asked for the exact address. Seras recited it and got an uncomfortably thorough looking-over for it.

"I've been good friends with the owner of that house for three decades." Announced the stranger. "We've known each other since primary school."

Seras choked. She knew the woman, had played with her youngest child a few times. "That's amazing."

Inga's best friend agreed and hustled them to the gates, where security let them in with a perfunctory check. Seras hadn't planned for an audience when meeting her old nanny. She thought about making a quick escape, then of excuses and...

"Jovita! What are you doing here today?" The women exchanged hugs while Seras soaked in the sight of her healthy nanny, the woman she would always regard as her mother. She looked fit, walked without sign of arthritis or other ailments of aging. Only her hair, and its shining streaks of silver betrayed her. "Who is your friend?"

"I don't know."

"My name is Seras." Inga's irises zipped into thin rings, and she stiffened slightly. "I've got a message to deliver to you."

Inga frowned, her brow pinching together. "Jovita, I will see you tomorrow for tea?"

"Yes, yes. Tomorrow." Jovita gave Seras another curious perusal and bid them goodbye, Seras calling out a hasty thankyou for the guidance.

Inside, Inga offered her tea, and Seras nodded, taking a seat in a comfortable chair. She looked around the nicely furnished home, pictures of nieces and nephews and family all over. There, in the center, was a photo of young Rylie, laughing at whoever was behind the camera. A cup of steaming fruit tea was set before her. She breathed in the scent with relish and picked up a sweet biscuit to nibble. "I haven't had these in forever."

"They're homemade." Inga replied.

"Just like my mom used to make." Seras grinned. Her tea was too hot, so she pulled a little energy out to cool it and filled her mouth. The taste took her back into memory. She felt a giddy smile stretch her face as it streamed into her belly.

Inga looked at her steaming cup, then to Seras' not-steaming cup. Her jaw moved, and she swallowed. "What is your message?"

She should have felt nervous, but she didn't. Chalking it up to years of strange situations, she eased the smile to a soft expression. "Rylie has found happiness in a new life."

A cross between a gasp and sob caught Inga.

"A fortunate accident allowed her to escape her old nightmares, and she chose a new name for her new life. She stumbled across people who accepted her, made her one of their own. She finished growing up." Trails sparkled down Inga's cheeks. Seras went on, nostalgia catching at her voice. "This new Rylie, she not only came into herself, built incredible friendships and changed lives, and went on crazy adventures, but she fell in love. She's married now, has a remarkable life-partner who treats her with respect and honor and adores every sparky bit of her."

Riveted, Inga stared at her.

"Want to see a picture?" There they were, the nerves had finally shown up. Seras felt trembles race down her limbs.

Inga nodded.

The photo fluttered until it was stabbed to the table. "This is Rylie." Finger lifted, shook, landed on B'Elanna's humanized forehead. "And her partner, B'Elanna."

"This is a beautiful story, and I want to believe it, but Rylie has been dead for years." Inga was parrying, and both of them knew what Inga was really saying. 'Prove to me who you are.'

Seras dipped her head in obeisance and let her senses stretch out. She found the circuits of the security feeds in the sitting room and turned them off. Next, she let the feel of the sunlight on her skin combine with the power available in the house's frame. Her own personal style of holograms sparked into existence, three-dimensional blue outlines in the air.

"An engineer was trying to get her family home..." Hours and hours went by. Then a handful of days. Seras told all about her strange family in the future, talked about some of the adventures, though she left out the majority of details. There were some things that Inga didn't need to know about, that Seras never wanted to speak of again. They spent time merely strolling through parks, sipping tea and watching the clouds, and making meals together. The photograph of the couple was framed and added to the collection of family on the walls.

At the eighth morning, Inga canted her head at Seras when she walked into the kitchen for breakfast. "You're going to leave today."

"B'Elanna is probably wearing a hole in the carpet pacing." Seras confirmed.

"Will she feel the same amount of time that you've been here?"

"No. Hours, maybe a whole day." She grinned affectionately. "I doubt she lasted twenty minutes before her impatience set in."

After dinner, Inga thrust a handmade pillowcase, stuffed with who knew what, into her arms. "Belated birthday gifts, a wedding gift," sniffles choked her. "There's a letter. You hug your partner for me. Tell her," tears, "It's all in the letter."

The pillowcase was gently set down, then one wonderfully sweet mother was swept into a hug meant to convey a lifetime of gratitude, love, respect, and adoration to her. Goodbyes and wishes for bright futures were exchanged. Tears were spilled. Another round of hugs squeezed tightly. Seras stepped back, grabbed up her gifts, and activated the transport.

* * *

Impatient, B'Elanna paced, much to Harry and Seven's annoyance. "She'll be back soon. Don't worry, it's only been a few hours."

"It's not your _be'nal_ wandering around in the past. Don't you tell me to..."

"What? Did you think I'd get lost that easily?" Seras had reappeared, one hand jauntily on her hip, the other holding a bag of some sort. "How would Tom say it? No faith. No faith at all. You engineers ar-mmph." A pair of lips stealing her breath effectively cut off her mimicking.

* * *

"So, this is it." Seras and B'Elanna were overlooking a flat area covered in weeds and rubble.

B'Elanna nodded. "This is where the facility was. The entire area was destroyed during World War III."

A few minutes went by. "I'm ready to go."

Surprised by the extremely short perusal of a place it had taken an hour of hiking to get to, B'Elanna examined her life-mate. Seras was tense, yet relaxed in a way that B'Elanna knew she wasn't holding onto anything. There was nothing else to be gained by staying. She held out her hand, and it was softly taken.

"I love you."

Affection gracing her features, Belanna leaned close to brush her lips across Seras' cheek. "I love you too."

* * *

"I can't believe her headstone survived." Kneeling at the cracked granite marker, she touched her nanny's engraved name.

Huddling under an umbrella, B'Elanna mumbled something about luck. The place was cold, gray, and wet. She wanted to take her partner back to the hot beaches along the equator and make love to her in the shade of palm fronds again. Hearing her moans between the crashing waves, touching her sun-scorched body, tasting her tropical flavors...

But, Seras needed to visit Inga. So, there she was, shivering under the pattering of constant rain while Seras knelt in the mud and paid her respects. B'Elanna offered her own respect, "It's fitting, for a woman as strong as she was."

Seras nodded. At length, the woman pulled herself from the past and stood. She looked at B'Elanna without seeming to see her. A shake of her head, and it was gone, the blankness, replaced by a blossoming warmth that crinkled her eyes and showed her teeth.

"My warrior, braving the cold rain to stay by my side." There was humor in her voice, but not a trace of derision. Her comment was loving acknowledgment of B'Elanna's effort, and the following kiss showed the depth of her appreciation.

* * *

There was a place sacred to the religious sector of Klingon culture. It was a colony on the planet Boreth, where a monastery was erected high in the snowy mountains of the eastern continent. It was also full of Klingons who weren't huge fans of Starfleet, the Federation, or any species not Klingon. In light of that, the women had their iconic combadges stuffed into their luggage. Their features were well covered by the layers of thermal clothing. Kicking through a snowdrift, B'Elanna assured herself that any Klingons they came across would make fantastic punching bags if they took offense at Seras, despite her fluency in their language.

Without trouble, they crossed the quiet monastery and came to a door with letters of the harsh Klingon alphabet carved in it. Even B'Elanna could understand it. Her mother lived here. Eight years. No, ten. It'd been ten years since she'd seen the woman, not counting the brief video messages they'd exchanged since _Voyager's _return to the Alpha Quadrant. She stepped close and banged on the antique wood. Then they waited. A few minutes later, her fist rapped at it again.

Seras was furiously rubbing her coat covered arm. B'Elanna reached over to grab the offending hand and squeeze it.

"_DaneHbogh_ _yIta_'?" A bored voice sounded from the abruptly opened door.

Seras swallowed heavily under the scrutiny of the imposing Klingon female glaring at her, but she managed to form a reply before her partner could. "_nuqneH._"

"_SoH_ _'Iv_?_"_ The Klingon grumbled, then seemed to notice B'Elanna. Her head canted, and her eyes went wide. "B'Elanna?"

"Hello, mother." She was engulfed in a bone crushing hug.

"My daughter," wept Miral. "My daughter has come home!"

After some time, when B'Elanna thought she would pass out from lack of oxygen, Miral thrust them apart, holding her daughter at arms length. Her eyes soaked in every centimeter. B'Elanna did the same, taking in the aged woman, noting creases around her eyes that hadn't been there a decade ago. "Did you get my letter?"

"Yes, yes. Did you bring this mate of yours? Where is he? And who is this human?" Miral responded.

"Seras. _chaq ghu'maj? bir naDev._"

Miral was taken aback by the human's fluency, and she gestured for the couple to enter. When the door safely shut, travel bags set aside, B'Elanna shrugged out of her coat and boots and dragged Seras to the primitive fire burning in a hearth. A pot of something good smelling bubbled over it.

"You are the mighty Seras?" Miral demanded. "But you are a woman!"

B'Elanna wasn't insulted by her mother's objecting tone. She was amused.

"Yes. Yes I am." Seras replied calmly.

"B'Elanna has never shown attraction to females. You could have warned me, daughter." Miral growled, but B'Elanna shrugged carelessly. The elder woman's attention whipped back to Seras. "You speak Klingon?!"

This time, B'Elanna laughed and smiled with great pride at her life-mate. "And Vulcan, Ktarian, Betazed, Romulan, Cardassian, and a dozen others."

"A linguist I can believe about this human at least. But you told me that Seras is a great warrior. The stories from the return of your ship speak of a powerful being. This little human female..." Her voice faded out, eyes fixed on Seras, who had proffered a handful of sparks. The domicile lighting went out, and the sparks became a shining globe filling the room with a blue glow. Steel eyes glittered. "I am Seras, and your daughter is my _par'Mach'kai _and life-partner."

"By Kahless," whispered Miral.

Stepping close, B'Elanna swung an arm around Seras' waist and kissed her cheek. "Drop the theatrics before you kill her."

Glittering steel peered at her, and a smile glowed with teeth. The ball exploded in a storm of sparks that raced across the room, tickled their bodies, and ignited the overhead lights again. B'Elanna's faked growl was soundly kissed away.

A huffed snarl broke them apart. "Dinner will burn if you two do not move out of the way."

Intimate laughter was shared between the bonded women, and they went about helping Miral to finish the preparations for dinner, set the table, and share stories of their adventures in the Delta Quadrant. During, they inquired about Miral's life in the monastery, her studies in her faith, and if she would consider a vacation somewhere warmer. Late into the evening, over sipped alcohol and covered in fur blankets, the women floated through conversation.

Miral turned to Seras after learning that she had tutored B'Elanna in Klingonese only to see her eyes closed, body slumped comfortably in sleep. Wearing a smile of contentment and peace, B'Elanna dropped a gentle kiss to her mate's springy hair. Shocked at the relaxed attitude that she had never seen on her daughter, Miral studied the pair in awe. This was not the same troubled daughter who had disappeared a decade ago, even longer, if one was counting the years since she had left the colony they used to live on.

"Did she bring that peace to your heart, daughter?"

B'Elanna contemplated the last few years of her life. "She helped me find it."

Miral leaned forward. "How?"

"She made me tea."

_**This marks the end of B'Elanna and Seras' tale.**_

_**Thanks for the support, favorites, and reviews!**_

* * *

**Translations:**

_DaneHbogh_ _yIta_'? _- _What do you want?

_nuqneH - _ Hello/what do you want?

_SoH_ _'Iv_? - Who are you?

_chaq ghu'maj? bir naDev. _- May we enter? It's cold out here.


End file.
